# fiddler

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈfɪdələ(ɹ)/ · frequency rank #35,719

## Definitions
1. One who plays the fiddle.
2. One who fiddles; a cheat.
3. One who fiddles or tweaks.
4. A burrowing crab of the genus Gelasimus, of many species. The male has one claw very much enlarged, and often holds it in a position similar to that in which a musician holds a fiddle.
5. The common European sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos); so called because it habitually wags its tail up and down resembling the back and forth movement of a fiddler.
6. A large species of cicada, Macrotristria angularis, of eastern Australia; cherry nose.
7. A coin of little value: a sixpence or a farthing.
8. The capstan-house on a steamer.

## Etymology
From Middle English fithelere, from Old English fiþelere, from *fiþele. By surface analysis, fiddl(e) + -er.
* (capstan-house): So called because the fiddle would sometimes be played to cheer the sailors working there.

## Easily confused with
- **filler** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/fiddler-vs-filler)
- **fodder** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/fiddler-vs-fodder)
- **finder** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/fiddler-vs-finder)
- **fiddle** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/fiddle-vs-fiddler)

## Common misspellings (9)
`fdidler`, `ffiddler`, `fiddelr`, `fiddlerr`, `fiddller`, `fiddlre`, `fidlder`, `fidler`, `ifddler`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/fiddler