Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Niggle \Nig"gle\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Niggled}; p. pr. & vb. n.
   {Niggling}.] [Dim. of Prov. E. nig to clip money; cf. also
   Prov. E. nig a small piece.]
   To trifle with; to deceive; to mock. [Obs.] --Beau. & Fl.

Niggling \Nig"gling\, n.
   Finicky or pottering work; specif. (Fine Arts), minute and
   very careful workmanship in drawing, painting, or the like,
   esp. when bestowed on unimportant detail.

Source : WordNet®

niggling
     adj : (informal terms) small and of little importance; "a fiddling
           sum of money"; "a footling gesture"; "our worries are
           lilliputian compared with those of countries that are
           at war"; "a little (or small) matter"; "Mickey Mouse
           regulations"; "a dispute over niggling details";
           "limited to petty enterprises"; "piffling efforts";
           "giving a police officer a free meal may be against the
           law, but it seems to be a picayune infraction" [syn: {fiddling},
            {footling}, {lilliputian}, {little}, {Mickey Mouse}, {piddling},
            {piffling}, {petty}, {picayune}, {trivial}]