palter

English

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palter

/ˈpɒltə/ UK
/ˈpɔːltə/ UK
/ˈpɔl.tɚ/ US
/ˈpɑl.tɚ/ cot caught merger

Rhymes with -ɒltə(ɹ), -ɔːltə(ɹ)

Where it comes from

Probably from Middle English *palter (“rag, trifle, worthless thing”), from Middle Low German palter (“rag, cloth”). More at paltry.

verb palters · paltering · paltered · paulter

To talk insincerely; to prevaricate or equivocate in speech or actions. Romans, that have spoke the word, And will not palter.
To give a false impression by selective use of true but misleading statements.
archaic To trifle. Palter out your time in the penal statutes.
To haggle. Herceler. Voyez to haggle, to dodge. N.b. Cotgrave defines herceler/harceler by example: "to haggle, hucke, hedge, or paulter long in the buying of commodity".
To babble; to chatter.

Translations

Every language

verb to talk insincerely

Español	insincero, mentir
中文	敷衍搪塞 fū yǎn táng sè
Русский	виля́ть viljátʹ, темни́ть temnítʹ, извора́чиваться izvoráčivatʹsja

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MLA

"palter." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/palter. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

palter. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/palter

Chicago

"palter." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/palter.

BibTeX

@misc{palter_2026,
  title = {palter},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/palter},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}