fritter 1
— fritterer , n.
/frit"euhr/ , v.t.
1. to squander or disperse piecemeal; waste little by little (usually fol. by away ): to fritter away one's money; to fritter away an afternoon.
2. to break or tear into small pieces or shreds.
v.i.
3. to dwindle, shrink, degenerate, etc. (often fol. by away ): to watch one's fortune fritter away.
4. to separate or break into fragments: a plastic material having a tendency to fritter.
n.
5. a small piece, fragment, or shred.
[ 1720-30; earlier fitter, deriv. of fit (OE fitt ) a part ]
Syn. 1. dissipate, frivol away, idle away.
fritter 2
/frit"euhr/ , n.
a small cake of batter, sometimes containing corn, fruit, clams, or some other ingredient, fried in deep fat or sautéed.
[ 1350-1400; ME friture, frytour friture frictura a frying, equiv. to L frict ( us ), ptp. of frigere to FRY + -ura -URE ]