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Rootling vs Footling - What's the difference?

rootling | footling |

As verbs the difference between rootling and footling

is that rootling is while footling is .

As nouns the difference between rootling and footling

is that rootling is a small or miniature root; a rootlet while footling is a fetus oriented so that, at birth, its feet will emerge first a type of breech birth.

As an adjective footling is

trivial; unimportant; useless; silly; inept; irritating.

rootling

English

Etymology 1

Verb

(head)

    • Etymology 2

    From .

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • A small or miniature root; a rootlet.
  • a plantling just beginning to root.
  • *1928 , Victoria. Dept. of Agriculture, The Journal of the Department of Agriculture of Victoria - Volume 25 - Page 417 :
    • Coming to actual plantation, we are confronted by the question whether a cutting or a rootling is to be prepared.
  • *1992 , Bryan George Coombe, Peter R. Dry, Viticulture :
    • Ideally, rootlings should have several major roots spreading in different directions and several shoots, 4-5 mm thick and 20 cm [...]

    footling

    English

    Etymology 1

    Adjective

    (en adjective)
  • Trivial; unimportant; useless; silly; inept; irritating.
  • * 1919 , , All Roads Lead to Calvary , ch. 16:
    • He was explaining to her things about the air service. . . . "Isn't it rather dangerous work?" she asked. She felt it was a footling question even as she asked it.
  • * 1922 , , Right Ho, Jeeves , ch. 7:
    • Only a couple of days ago I was compelled to take him off a case because his handling of it was so footling .
  • * 1948 May 24, " United Nations: Over to You," Time (retrieved 14 Oct 2013):
    • For 28 footling days the 58-nation General Assembly had been debating the now-famous U.S. afterthought: to postpone partition and substitute a U.N. trusteeship for Palestine.
  • * 2009 July 15, , " The Genre Artist," New York Times (retrieved 14 Oct 2013):
    • “Why did you persist in writing hurlothrumbo romances of the footling sort favored by mooncalfs?”

    Verb

    (head)

    • Etymology 2

    .

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • A fetus oriented so that, at birth, its feet will emerge first. A type of breech birth.
  • * 2006 Jan. 29, " Excerpt from Physical: An American Checkup'' by ," ''New York Times (retrieved 14 Oct 2013):
    • In 1999 my fourth child (third daughter) made an unexpected footling breech presentation.