cavil

The story

1. Latin · derived fromcavillor“jeer, mock, satirise, reason captiously”
2. Old French · derived fromcaviller“mock, jest, rail”
3. English todaycavil

From Old French caviller (“mock, jest, rail”), from Latin cavillor (“jeer, mock, satirise, reason captiously”), from cavilla (“jeering, raillery, scoffing”); cognate with Italian cavillare, Portuguese cavillar, and Spanish cavilar; nominal usage developed within English from the original verbal usage.