Definition of "quibble"

Is it a quibble, or play upon words?

1864, Robert Kemp Philp, editor, The Family Friend, page 54

This is a quibble between council and counsel. The latter word is still used to imply secrecy; as in the phrase, "keep your own counsel."

1870, Richard Grant White, The complete works of Shakspere, with a memoir, and essay

Quibbles […] have no place in the search after truth.

1741, I[saac] Watts, The Improvement of the Mind: Or, A Supplement to the Art of Logick: […], London: […] James Brackstone, […]

Toward the end of “Galatea,” there are a few missteps: […] All in all, though, these are minor quibbles.

1995 June 27, Michiko Kakutani, “Playing Pygmalion to a Hermeneutic Computer”, in New York Times‎

Essentially, we want a commitment to no-quibble refunds, without admin fees, if people who have already paid decide not to travel because of the virus.

2020 March 25, “Network News: Passengers offered refunds or switched fares”, in Rail, page 7

“Oh, if you talk in that sense!” said Mr. Standish, with as much disgust at such non-legal quibbling as a man can well betray towards a valuable client.

1871, George Eliot [pseudonym; Mary Ann Evans], chapter X, in Middlemarch […], volume I, Edinburgh, London: William Blackwood and Sons, book (please specify |book=I to VIII)

“I dog no one, Mr. Temple,” I replied bitterly. “We'll not quibble about words,” said he.

1904 May, Winston Churchill, chapter VI, in The Crossing, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., book II (Flotsam and Jetsam), page 314

Mr. Musk has shown a disdain toward Twitter’s previous corporate culture. He has quibbled with the number of bird references in the company’s internal team names and products.

2023 July 24, Ryan Mac, Tiffany Hsu, “From Twitter to X: Elon Musk Begins Erasing an Iconic Internet Brand”, in The New York Times‎