'quibbler' originates from English, formed from the verb/noun 'quibble' + the agent suffix '-er', where 'quibble' meant 'a trivial objection or evasion'.

'quibble' appeared in English in the mid-16th century (possibly from an earlier word 'quib' meaning 'trifle' or from dialectal sources); the agent noun 'quibbler' was later formed by adding the productive suffix '-er' to denote a person who quibbles.

Initially it referred to a trivial objection, equivocation, or petty distinction; over time it came to be used of a person who habitually raises such petty objections.