hairsplitting : Dictionary / Wörterbuch (BEOLINGUS, TU Chemnitz)

English Dictionary: hairsplitting	by the DICT Development Group
2 results for hairsplitting
From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
hairsplitting adj developed in excessively fine detail; "finespun distinctions" Synonym(s): finespun, hairsplitting n making too fine distinctions of little importance; "they didn't take his hairsplitting seriously" Synonym(s): hairsplitting, word-splitting
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Hairsplitting \Hair"split`ting\, a. Making excessively nice or trivial distinctions in reasoning; subtle. -- n. The act or practice of making trivial distinctions. The ancient hairsplitting technicalities of special pleading. --Charles Sumner.