Meaning

noun an evasion of the point of an argument by raising irrelevant distinctions or objections

verb raise trivial objections

originFrom 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.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0