Green’s Dictionary of Slang

to argue; thus argufication n., argument; arguficator, argufier, arguer.

1751		Smollett Peregrine Pickle (1964) 415: Howsomever, that don’t argufy in reverence of his being in a hurry; and a man may be sometimes a little too judgmatical in his conjectures.
1758		A. Murphy Upholsterer I ii: Well, it does not signify Argifying, I wish we were both warm in Bed.
a.1763		Aberdeen Jrnl 4 July 2/2: I have been at sea now five and thirty years; and yet was never brought to the gang ways [...] yet what argufies that? I am worse off than a great many who have served so .
1771		Smollett Humphrey Clinker (1925) I 27: Would you go for to offer for to arguefy me out of my senses?
a.1790		C. Dibdin ‘Soldier Dick’ Collection of Songs II 81: What argufies who stands and falls.
1798		T. Morton Speed the Plough III iii: I’ll argufy the topic.
1801		C. Dibdin Yngr Song Smith 131: What argufies talking of danger and fear?
1815		D. Humphreys Yankey in England 19: No; you were too darned cute; too plaguey knowing in argufying the case.
1820		W. Combe Doctor Syntax, Consolation (1868) 192/2: I have no learning, no not I, / Nor do pretend to argufy.
1830		N. Ames Mariner’s Sketches 196: Knock him down first and ‘argufy the topic’ with him afterwards.
1832		‘Naval Anecdotes’ in Currency Lad (Sydney) 3 Nov. 4/2: I’m none o’ your arguficators — none o’ your long-winded lawyers.
1833		A. Greene Life and Adventures of Dr Dodimus Duckworth I 135: Oh, you little rogue, Dody, how you will always get round your mother in an argufication.
1841		W.J. Neale Paul Periwinkle 346: While you two are argufying the point, Captain Simpson, these poor devils below’ll be smothered.
1848		J.R. Lowell Biglow Papers (1880) 21: These creeturs [...] Should come to Jaalam Centre fer to argify an’ spout on ’t.
1855		T. Haliburton Nature and Human Nature I 166: I listen to a preacher, and try to be the better for his argufying, if he has any sense, and will let me.
1857		Bell’s Life in Victoria (Melbourne) 14 Mar. 3/6: Don’t be a passion, nig — we’ll argify and explainify dis ting.
1859		Bell’s Life in Sydney 5 Feb. 3/3: The evidence and the ‘argufyings’ having occupied the court something under five hours.
1861		R.F. Burton City of the Saints 205: A Mormon lad [...] had been trained to go in a ‘sorter’ jibbing and somewhat uncomfortable ‘argufying,’ ‘highfalutin’’ way.
1876		B. Harte Gabriel Conroy II 164: She’s a peart sort o’ woman in her way [...] pow’ful to argyfy and plan.
1876		C. Hindley Life and Adventures of a Cheap Jack 223: Let’s argufy the topic properly.
1888		S.O. Addy Sheffield Gloss. 5: Argify, to argue.
1895		Truth (Sydney) 10 Mar. 5/6: ‘It wouldn’t do for me to hargify with him, would it now?’ ‘You “hargify”’ with me pretty often’.
1898		F. Dumont Dumont’s Joke Book 100: I’se been a list’nin’ to yo’ all’s argufyin’.
1900		Bulletin (Sydney) 8 Dec. 7/2: ’E argyfied a bit, but I got round ’im all right.
1905		H.G. Wells Kipps (1952) 253: I didn’t come to argfuefy.
1911		‘Sing Sing No. 57,700’ My View on Books in N.Y. Times Mag. 21 May 7/5: The gamest pair of argufiers hat ever came down the highway.
1912		P.C. Wren Dew & Mildew 257: ‘You can argify an’ they can argify, but the mos’ fust-class argyment is the bomb. There ain’t no back-answerin’ to that’.
1914		R. Tressell Ragged Trousered Philanthropists (1955) 19: Argufying about politics generally ends up with a bloody row.
1914		F. Dumont Darkey Dialect Discourses 32: Dat settles it beyond argufyin’, and nobody can condispute it.
1925		G.H. Mullin Adventures of a Scholar Tramp 169: I [...] listened curiously to the speeches and ‘argufying’ going on.
1929		E. Dahlberg Bottom Dogs 65: Mush Tate was argufying with Prunes, Shrimp, Spunk, and all the goulashes. [Ibid.] 75: He was the champeen argufier of the home.
1933		M. Marshall Tramp-Royal on the Toby 49: Do not arguefy or show me.
1940		(con. 1820s) W.E. Wilson Wabash 199: Shore kin, now! An’ outargufy ’em too!
1989		H. Leonard Out After Dark 1: What they did do was observe and, to use their own expression, argufy.