quareadj.
/kwɛː/, U.S. /kwɛ(ə)r/, Irish English /kweːr/ 1. Chiefly Irish English. = queer adj.1 1a. quare fellow = queer fellow n. (a) at queer adj.1 Compounds 2.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > order > disorder > irregularity > unconformity > abnormality > [adjective] > odd
quaintc1325
awkc1440
queer?a1513
odd1578
quaintish1594
odd-conceiteda1616
odd-ceited1652
whimsical1675
singulara1684
eccentric1685
oddish1705
rummish1709
comical1713
odd-like1718
rum1750
queerish1775
funny1793
quare1805
rummy1828
kinky1844
quirkish1848
quirky1873
odd-gates1906
funny-peculiar1916
antrin1925
off-brand1929
fanciful-
1805 E. Cavanagh Let. 20 Aug. in M. Wilmot & C. Wilmot Russ. Jrnls. (1934) ii. 179 Tis quair things I have been seeing!
1871 E. Eggleston Hoosier School-master iii. 32 ‘What a quare boy Shocky is!’ remarked Betsey Short, with a giggle. ‘He just likes to wander 'round alone.’
1903 Dial. Notes 2 332 Sull,..to sulk..‘She is a quare child and sulls whenever she is contrairied.’
1941 Sat. Evening Post 10 May 112/3 I jist saw a quare thing.
1956 B. Behan Quare Fellow i. 4 Did the quare fellow get a reprieve?.. Now which quare fellow do you mean? The fellow beat his wife to death..was reprieved.
1976 M. Macdonald Rich are with you Always (1977) xxx. 234 The quare fella here is Master of the Tipperary [Hunt].
1996 J. Doran Red Doran 20 Old Jack Hill, I remember, travelled round the town in the pony and trap driven by Wee Paddy Hegarty and it was a quare turnout.
2. Irish English (northern). As an intensifier: excellent, good in quality or quantity. Also frequently quare and with a predicative adjective: very, extremely.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > quantity > greatness of quantity, amount, or degree > high or intense degree > [adjective] > very great or extreme
strangec1380
overpassinga1382
passinga1387
most?c1430
extremec1460
horriblea1464
violenta1500
mainc1540
immortal?c1550
exquisite1552
sore1555
three-piled1598
thundering1618
devilish1639
shrewda1643
deadly1660
woundy1681
vast1696
monstrous1711
mortal1716
terrific1743
hell-fired1754
hellish1764
colossal1794
severe1805
awful1818
all-fired1829
terrible1829
quare and1847
ferocious1877
pluperfect1889
raging1889
giddy1896
utter1898
stiff1905
1847 N.Y. Morning Express 21 Jan. 7/1 Edward Lawson said that he had always been a ‘quare’ man until this morning, when he got drunk and took to the cross.
1880 W. H. Patterson Gloss. Words Antrim & Down 81 Quare, Queer, adj. very ‘quare an' nice’ = very nice.
1896 J. Barlow Mrs. Martin's Company 13 Sure I know the roof's quare and bad.
1898 J. Barlow East unto West 193 It's a quare dale aisier crookenin' things than straightenin' thim again.
1910 P. W. Joyce Eng. as we speak it in Ireland xiii. 309 This day is quare and hot.
1953 M. Traynor Eng. Dial. Donegal 223/1 Queer,..excellent, to an extraordinary degree. There was quare sport at the weddin'.
1977 G. B. Adams in D. Ó Muirithe Eng. Lang. in Ireland 67 Mine ye, A was quare an gled tae get anntae ma settle bed thaat naght.
1996 J. Doran Red Doran 52 Wasn't I the quare eejit too, for then they would get me to sing all the rebel songs to them and I know now they were taking a hand out of me.
Derivatives
ˈquarely adv. †(a) oddly, strangely (obsolete); (b) very much, a great deal.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > quantity > greatness of quantity, amount, or degree > high or intense degree > [adverb] > very
tooc888
swith971
wellOE
wellOE
fullOE
rightc1175
muchc1225
wellac1275
gainlya1375
endlyc1440
hard?1440
very1448
odda1500
great1535
jolly1549
fellc1600
veryvery1649
gooda1655
vastly1664
strange1667
bloody1676
ever so1686
heartily1727
real1771
precious1775
quarely1805
murry1818
très1819
freely1820
powerfula1822
gurt1824
almighty1830
heap1832
all-fired1833
gradely1850
real1856
bonny1857
heavens1858
veddy1859
canny1867
some1867
oh-so1881
storming1883
spanking1886
socking1896
hefty1898
velly1898
fair dinkum1904
plurry1907
Pygmalion1914
dinkum1915
beaucoup1918
dirty1920
molto1923
snorting1924
honking1929
hellishing1931
thumpingly1948
way1965
mega1966
mondo1968
seriously1970
totally1972
mucho1978
stonking1990
the world > relative properties > order > disorder > irregularity > unconformity > abnormality > [adverb] > oddly
odd1603
oddlya1616
quirkishly1673
queerly1698
singularly1752
quarely1805
rumly1819
funnily1837
peculiarly1847
funny1852
rummily1891
quirkily1926
off1966
1805 E. Cavanagh Let. 4 Oct. in M. Wilmot & C. Wilmot Russ. Jrnls. (1934) ii. 185 It was quairly made.
1864 C. G. Halpine Life & Adventures of Private Miles O'Reilly v. 63 Yes, I tell you fairly, Things looks mighty quarely In the dimmycratic party of this daycint town.
1896 M. Hamilton Across Ulster Bog xi. 92 You're mended quarely this last while.
1920 S. G. Ervine Foolish Lovers (2004) i. i. v. 28 ‘Ha ha, ha,’ she said, ‘I have you quarely gunked!’
1977 J. Pepper What Thing to Say 41 John's wife had just died and Robert James called to offer his condolences... ‘You'll quarely miss her, mind you.’ ‘Aye, I will that.’
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2007; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
† quarev.
Obsolete. rare.
intransitive. = square v. 9b.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > order > agreement, harmony, or congruity > agree/be in harmony/be congruous [verb (intransitive)]
accord1340
cord1340
concordc1374
agree1447
to stand togetherc1449
rhyme?a1475
commonc1475
gree?a1513
correspond1529
consent1540
cotton1567
pan1572
reciprocate1574
concur1576
meet1579
suit1589
sorta1592
condog1592
square1592
fit1594
congrue1600
sympathize1601
symbolize1605
to go even1607
coherea1616
congreea1616
hita1616
piece1622
to fall in1626
harmonize1629
consist1638
comply1645
shadow1648
quare1651
atonea1657
symphonize1661
syncretize1675
chime1690
jibe1813
consone1873
1651 A. Conway Let. 2 Oct. (1930) i. 38 I thinke the Grecians learned from them both naturall and morall philosophy onely they made it quare to their owne religion.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2007; most recently modified version published online September 2018).
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adj.1805
v.1651