The Chief Justice uttered the rarely used term “pettifogging” into proceedings to remind the House of Representatives impeachment managers and the lawyers, reports BBC News.
Archaic word uttered
On the first day of the Trump impeachment trial, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court John Roberts uttered the word “pettifogging” to illustrate a point.
Why was the word used?
The Chief Justice threw the rarely used term into proceedings to remind the House of Representatives impeachment managers and the president’s lawyers about the expected levels of decorum when arguing in the Senate.
A senators objection in 1905
“In the 1905 Swayne trial, a senator objected when one of the managers used the word ‘pettifogging’ and the presiding officer said the word ought not to have been used,” Justice Roberts said.
“I don’t think we need to aspire to that high of a standard, but I do think those addressing the Senate should remember where they are.”
What does it mean?
To “pettifog” is, according to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, “to quibble over insignificant details” or “engage in legal chicanery”.
Word used in 16th century
The verb was actually formed from the noun “pettifogger”, which was used in the 16th Century to describe those who would argue over minor details in a fee.
Merriam-Webster also notes that the term was often used to describe “lower-status lawyers” who would take on small cases.
Frequency of usage of the word
The word is so seldom used that Google Ngrams, which measures the frequency that words appear in books and journals, shows that “pettifogging” peaked in 1900, but has gradually disappeared.
While the word is certainly colourful, it eventually fell out of common parlance, other than in legal circles, according to lexicographer and Wall Street Journal language columnist Ben Zimmer.
Mr Zimmer said, “Vestiges of lexicon survive in the legal world and nowhere else. Lawyers and judges are always appealing to precedent so often returning to older texts.”
Rediscovery of a word
Mr Zimmer explains that Judges are certainly capable of reviving particular words. He added, “Justice [Antonin] Scalia was famous for this and notably brought back ‘argle bargle’.”
“When words pop-up in legal proceedings it often gives the public a chance to rediscover a word.”
Interest grew in its meaning and origins
Following Justice Roberts’ use of the word this week, interest grew in its meaning and origins.
Merriam-Webster even reported that lookups for the word “pettifogger” spiked 30,800%.
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Source: BBC
