Why this word is great
ARGUTATION — [Noun] The act of engaging in petty, overly subtle disputation over trivialities. From Latin argutation-, argutatio, a noun of action from argutari ("to prattle, chatter, dispute"), frequentative of arguere ("to argue, assert, prove"). Unlike debate, which implies a formal clash of substantial views, or cavil, which emphasizes fault-finding on minor grounds, argutation is the hollow, compulsive performance of argument for its own sake. It is the pedant dissecting a subordinate clause while the world burns, the interminable domestic quarrel over a dishwasher chore from seven Tuesdays prior, the online thread metastasizing over a typo as the core point evaporates—a testament to the mind's boundless theater in the smallest of arenas, performed not to arrive at truth, but to forestall the silence of agreement.