If you ask someone a direct question and they give you a waffling answer, or they don’t seem sincere in their response, they’re paltering. The root origin of this word is unknown, but it came into English in the mid-16th century to refer to mumbling or babbling speech. A secondary usage of “palter” is found at the bargaining table: It means “to haggle,” or “chaffer,” which is defined as “haggling about price.”