quaintadj.adv.n.²

Brit.

/kweɪnt/, U.S.

/kweɪnt/

Forms:

α. Middle English coint, Middle English cointe, Middle English cointt, Middle English coynnt, Middle English coynt, Middle English cuinte, Middle English cwointe, Middle English cwuinte, Middle English kointe, Middle English koynt, Middle English koynte, Middle English quinte, Middle English qunte, Middle English quointe, Middle English quoynt, Middle English quoynte, Middle English quynte, Middle English–1500s coynte, 1500s quyent; Scottish pre-1700 quynt, pre-1700 quynte, 1900s– quint (Orkney).

β. Middle English koweynte, Middle English quainte, Middle English quant, Middle English quante, Middle English quent, Middle English quente, Middle English queyte (transmission error), Middle English quiant (in a late copy), Middle English qwaint (in a late copy), Middle English qwantt, Middle English qwaynt, Middle English qwaynte, Middle English qwent, Middle English qweynt, Middle English qweynte, Middle English–1500s quaynt, Middle English–1500s quaynte, Middle English–1500s queinte, Middle English–1500s (1900s– archaic) queynte, Middle English–1600s queynt, Middle English–1700s queint, Middle English– quaint; Scottish pre-1700 quant, pre-1700 quaynt, pre-1700 quent, pre-1700 queynt, pre-1700 qwaynt, pre-1700 qwent, pre-1700 1700s– quaint; N.E.D. (1902) also records a form Middle English qwantte.

γ. Middle English qwhaynt, Middle English waynt, Middle English wente, Middle English whaynt, Middle English whaynte, Middle English wheynte; English regional (northern) 1600s 1800s– wheint, 1600s– whaint, 1700s whunt, 1700s– wheant, 1700s– whent, 1800s weant, 1800s– waint, 1800s– waynt, 1800s– weeant, 1800s– went, 1800s– went; Scottish 1900s– whint; N.E.D. (1902) also records a form Middle English quhaynte.

Origin: A borrowing from French. Etymon: French cointe.

Etymology: < Anglo-Norman cointe, cuente, cuinte, kointe, quaint, queinte, quint, quointe and Old French, Middle French cointe clever, astute, quick-witted, experienced, expert (11th cent.), crafty, cunning (12th cent.), brave (12th cent.), gracious, elegant, pleasant, smart, fashionable (12th cent.), devious, underhand (12th cent. in Anglo-Norman), arrogant (12th cent. in Anglo-Norman), (as noun) trick, deceit (13th cent. in Anglo-Norman), (of a thing) ingenious (c1272 in Anglo-Norman) < classical Latin cognitus known (see cognitum n.), in post-classical Latin also wise, clever, sensible (6th cent.). In continental French ‘gracious, elegant, pleasant, smart, fashionable’ is the dominant sense from the Middle French period onwards (French coint, also cointe nice, pleasant (now archaic)); this sense appears to have spread to Old French from Old Occitan coinde, cueinde, conge, etc. (a1126).With use as noun compare earlier quaint n.¹ Also found early as a surname (Hugo le Cuint (1208)), although it is uncertain whether this reflects the Anglo-Norman or the Middle English word.

A. adj.

I. Cunning, ingenious; elaborate, elegant.

†1.

a. Of a person: cunning, crafty, given to scheming or plotting. Obsolete (archaic in later use).

ΘΚΠ

the world > action or operation > ability > skill or skilfulness > cunning > [adjective]

warec888

craftyOE

hinderyeapc1000

yepec1000

foxc1175

slya1200

hinderc1200

quaint?c1225

wrenchfulc1225

wiltfula1250

wilyc1330

subtle1340

cautelous138.

sleightful1380

subtile1387

enginousa1393

wilfula1400

wilyc1407

sleighty1412

serpentinec1422

ginnousa1425

wittya1425

semyc1440

artificial?a1475

sleight1495

slapea1500

shrewdc1525

craftly1526

foxy1528

gleering?1533

foxish1535

insidious1545

vafrous1548

wily beguile1550

wilely1556

fine1559

todly1571

practic1585

subdolous1588

captious1590

witryff1598

cautel1606

cunninga1616

versute1616

shiftfula1618

artificious1624

insidiary1625

canny1628

lapwing-like1638

pawky?a1640

tricksome1648

callid1656

versutious1660

artful1663

slim1674

dexterous1701

trickish1705

supple1710

slid1719

vulpinary1721

tricksy1766

trickful1775

sneck-drawing1786

tricky1786

louche1819

sneck-drawn1820

slyish1828

vulpine1830

kokum1839

spidery1843

dodgy1861

ladino1863

carney1881

slinky1951

?c1225 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 244 Þeos cointe [a1250 Nero kointe; a1250 Titus cwointe; a1300 Caius cuinte] harloz..hare flowinde cweise. þet ha putteð eauer forð.

c1325 (c1300) Chron. Robert of Gloucester (Calig.) 2293 (MED) Vortiger, þe quoynte suike..was erl of cornwaile.

1402 T. Hoccleve Lepistre Cupide (Huntington) l. 152 in Minor Poems (1970) ii. 298 Al be it þat men fynde o womman..Sly, qweynte & fals..It folwith nat swiche alle wommen be.

a1475 Childhood Jesus (Harl. 3954) 337 in C. Horstmann Sammlung Altengl. Legenden (1878) 105 (MED) Alle þei gun Jhesu to banne..Hee kallyn hym þan a qwent syre.

1513 G. Douglas tr. Virgil Æneid ii. i. 59 Knaw ȝe nocht bettir the quent Vlexes slycht?

1571 Disc. tviching Estait sig. A.vii Ane inuentioun of thay quent curteouris.

c1600 (?c1395) Pierce Ploughman's Crede (Trin. Cambr. R.3.15) (1873) 482 ‘Dere broþer’ quaþ Peres ‘þe devell is ful queynte’.

1673 J. Ray N. Countrey Words in Coll. Eng. Words 53 A wheint lad q. queint: a fine lad: ironice dictum. Chesh.

1680 T. Otway Orphan iii. 25 The quaint, smooth Rogue, that sins against his Reason.

1814 tr. Bk. Heroes in Illustr. Northern Antiq. 160 The dwarf is quaint, and full of guile, then beware his cunning sleight.

b. Clever, ingenious; wise, knowing; skilled. Obsolete.In later use frequently with reference to the skilled use of language; cf. sense A. 5.

ΘΚΠ

the world > action or operation > ability > skill or skilfulness > [adjective] > ingenious

craftlyOE

craftyOE

quainta1250

enginefulc1400

maliciousc1425

industriousc1487

curious1489

ingenious1576

daedal1590

Daedalian1607

fertile-headed1632

knacky1710

supple1710

tricksome1821

tactical1883

tricky1887

fertile-brained1894

the mind > mental capacity > understanding > intelligence, cleverness > wit, wittiness > [adjective]

quainta1250

conceitive1579

conceited1583

conceity1589

conceitful1594

wittya1616

sharply-conceived1630

smart1639

mercurial1647

spiritual1701

wittified1742

scintillant1764

witful1765

a1250 (?c1200) St. Katherine (Titus) (1981) 408 Hwuch wis read of se cointe [c1225 Royal icudd; c1225 Bodl. cud] keiser, makie se monie clerkes to cumen..to moten wið ameiden?

c1300 St. Thomas Apostle (Harl.) 170 in C. D'Evelyn & A. J. Mill S. Eng. Legendary (1956) 577 Þe beste carpenter & queynteste þat ich euer iseȝ.

c1350 Psalter (BL Add. 17376) in K. D. Bülbring Earliest Compl. Eng. Prose Psalter (1891) cxviii. 98 (MED) Þou madest me quainte [v.r. wys; L. prudentem] vp myn enemis to þi comaundement.

c1400 (?c1380) Cleanness (1920) 160 (MED) Stik hym stifly in stokez..to teche hym be quoynt.

a1500 (?a1425) Ipomedon (Harl.) (1889) 1416 (MED) A queynter knyght is not in land.

1501 G. Douglas Palace of Honour i. lxv Ȝit clerkis bene in subtell wordis quent, And in the deid als schairp as ony snaillis.

c1540 (?a1400) Gest Historiale Destr. Troy 1531 He..Gate masons..Qwariours qweme, qwaint men of wit.

1594 W. Shakespeare Henry VI, Pt. 2 iii. ii. 277 To trie how quaint an Orator you were.

a1616 W. Shakespeare Taming of Shrew (1623) iii. iii. 20 Wee'll ouer-reach..The quaint Musician.

a1628 J. Preston New Covenant (1634) 273 If you would preach as other men do, and be curious and quaint of Oratory.

1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Æneis xi, in tr. Virgil Wks. 559 Talk on, ye quaint Haranguers of the Crowd.

1728 J. Morgan Compl. Hist. Algiers I. vi. 176 The Arabs in general are quaint, bold, hospitable, and generous, excessive Lovers of Eloquence and Poesy.

1825 B. Proctor in Edinb. Rev. Aug. 55 We had almost forgotten to mention Donne, a quaint writer, somewhat earlier than Fanshawe.

1834 M. R. Mitford Charles I iii. i. 37 A hollow glittering crown, Shaped by some quaint and cunning goldsmith.

2. Of an action, scheme, device, etc.: characterized or marked by cleverness, ingenuity, or cunning. Now rare and archaic.

ΘΚΠ

the world > action or operation > ability > skill or skilfulness > [adjective] > ingenious > characterized by ingenuity

craftlyOE

quaintc1230

sly1297

subtilea1393

subtlea1400

cunning1423

prettyc1450

ingenious1548

politicc1550

well-contrived1563

conceited1579

well-invented1588

concepted1594

nimble1602

artful1605

artly?1614

artistical1646

callid1656

well-couched1671

tippy1863

genius1924

creative1967

c1230 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Corpus Cambr.) (1962) 152 Ure lauerd..brohte swa to grunde his [sc. the Devil's] cointe [a1250 Titus cwuinte] couerschipe.

c1300 St. Clement (Laud) 551 in C. Horstmann Early S.-Eng. Legendary (1887) 339 (MED) Þare is nouþe seint clementes churche, I-mad with quoynte gynne.

c1330 (?a1300) Arthour & Merlin (Auch.) (1973) 4447 (MED) Morgein..wiþ hir queint gin Bigiled þe gode clerk Merlin.

a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1872) IV. 429 Iosephus..fonde up a queynte craft [v.r. coynt; ?a1475 anon. tr comente; L. commentum] and heng wete cloþes uppon þe toun walles.

a1439 J. Lydgate Fall of Princes (Bodl. 263) iii. 27 (MED) Dreed & onkunnyng..with ther subtil crepyng in most queynte Ha maad my sperit..for to feynte.

c1450 (a1375) Octavian (Calig.) (1979) 1033 (MED) Þe helm was of queynte kest; A borys heed stood on þe crest.

a1500 (a1460) Towneley Plays (1897–1973) 135 (MED) This was a qwantt gawde and a far cast; It was a hee frawde.

1522 Worlde & Chylde (de Worde) (1909) sig. A.ii^v I can many a quaynte game.

1598 S. Rowlands Betraying of Christ 10 When traitor meets, these quaint deceits he had.

1652 R. Brome Joviall Crew ii. sig. E2 I..over-heard you in your queint designe, to new create your selves.

1659 R. Brathwait Panthalia 116 He practised one device, which of all others was most quaint and remarkable.

1742 W. Shenstone School-mistress xii With quaint Arts the giddy Crowd she sways.

1762 L. Sterne Life Tristram Shandy VI. xi. 50 They are musical terms, and have a meaning;—and as he was a musical man, I will make no doubt, but that by some quaint application of such metaphors to the compositions in hand, they impressed very distinct ideas of their several characters upon his fancy.

1820 J. Keats Eve of St. Agnes in Lamia & Other Poems 95 A casement high and triple-arch'd..And diamonded with panes of quaint device.

1854 M. R. Mitford Otto of Wittelsbach iii. i. 220 Ye might spend a day upon the winding stair Ere ye could trace the groove, so quaint and cunning The workmanship!

1889 ‘M. Twain’ Connecticut Yankee iv. 53 This quaint lie was most simply and beautifully told.

1902 A. M. Machar Lays True North & Other Poems 64 Stainless marble, carven fine By cunning sculptor in a quaint design.

1909 E. Pound Personae 31 Ponder in silence o'er earth's queynt devyse.

1970 C. Hampton Philanthropist i. 13 John puts the revolver into his mouth and presses the trigger. Loud explosion. By some quaint device, gobs of brain and bright blood appear on the whitewashed wall.

†3.

a. Cunningly or ingeniously designed or contrived; made with skill or art; elaborate. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the world > action or operation > ability > skill or skilfulness > [adjective] > having practical, operative, or constructive skill > skilfully made or wrought

craftyOE

well-wrought?c1225

broidenc1230

quaintc1300

craftily?c1335

craftiousc1400

hagherc1400

well-madec1475

artificial1490

well-framed1532

well-fashioned1542

crafted?1548

well-laboured1550

finished1582

well built1605

well-arted?1611

composeda1616

technical1656

affabrous1755

well-worked1865

technic1877

well-crafted1926

c1300 11000 Virgins (Laud) 62 in C. Horstmann Early S.-Eng. Legendary (1887) 88 (MED) He liet heom makien a quoynte schip.

a1325 St. Patrick (Corpus Cambr.) 156 in C. D'Evelyn & A. J. Mill S. Eng. Legendary (1956) 90 (MED) Þer aboute..Queinte pilers and arches were.

c1400 (?c1390) Sir Gawain & Green Knight (1940) 999 (MED) Wele waxez in vche a won..at mes & at mele, messes ful quaynt.

c1450 (c1380) G. Chaucer House of Fame 1925 And ever mo..This queynte hous aboute wente That never mo hyt stille stente.

c1450 (a1400) Libeaus Desconus (Calig. A.ii) (1969) 1571 (MED) Þe bordur of ermyne Nas non so queynte of gyn.

1627 M. Drayton Nimphidia in Battaile Agincourt 131 He told th' arming of each ioynt, In euery piece, how neate, and quaint.

1631 J. Shirley Traytor iv. ii Who knows But he may marry her, and discharge his Duchess With a quaint salad?

1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost ix. 35 Emblazon'd Shields, Impreses quaint .

1746 J. Warton Ode iii. (R.) Here ancient art her dædal fancies play'd In the quaint mazes of the crisped roof.

1814 tr. Song of Nibelungen in Illustr. Northern Antiq. 188 No hero on this middle earth, but Sir Siegfried, I avow, Without some engine quaint, could draw the mighty bow.

b. Skilfully made so as to have an attractive appearance; beautiful, pretty, fine, dainty. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > attention and judgement > beauty > pleasing appearance > [adjective]

faireOE

comelyOE

winlyOE

goodlyOE

hendya1250

hendc1275

quaintc1300

seemlyc1305

tidya1325

avenant1340

honestc1384

sightya1387

properc1390

well beseena1393

queema1400

speciousa1400

featousc1400

parisantc1400

rekenc1400

well-favoureda1438

wellc1450

spectable?a1475

delicatec1480

jollya1500

bonny?a1513

snog1513

viewlyc1536

goodlikec1550

sightly1555

sightful1565

beholdinga1586

eyesome?1587

decent1600

vage1604

prospicuous1605

eyely1614

fashionable1630

well-looking1638

softa1643

fineish1647

well-looked1660

of a good (also ugly, etc.) look1700

likely-looked1709

sonsy1720

smiling1725

aspectable1731

smirkya1758

likely-looking1771

respectable1776

magnificent-looking1790

producible1792

presentable1800

good-looking1804

nice-looking1807

bonnyish1855

spick1882

eyeable1887

aegyo2007

c1300 St. Agatha (Laud) 13 in C. Horstmann Early S.-Eng. Legendary (1887) 194 (MED) Þis hore..bi-hete hire quoynte þingus fale of seluer and of golde.

c1400 (?c1390) Sir Gawain & Green Knight (1940) 877 (MED) A cheyer..Watz grayþed..with cloþez, Whyssynes vpon queldepoyntes þa koynt wer boþe.

a1425 (?a1400) G. Chaucer Romaunt Rose (Hunterian) 98 A sylvre nedle forth y drough, Out of an aguler queynt [Fr. mignot et gent] ynough.

c1540 (?a1400) Destr. Troy 777 An ymage full nobill..þat qwaint was & qwem, all of white siluer.

1596 E. Spenser Second Pt. Faerie Queene iv. x. sig. K Nor hart could wish for any queint deuice, But there it present was, and did fraile sense entice.

1645 J. Milton Arcades in Poems 54 To nurse the Saplings tall, and curl the grove With Ringlets quaint.

1671 J. Milton Samson Agonistes 1303 In his hand A Scepter or quaint staff he bears.

c. Of dress: fine, fashionable, elegant. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > types or styles of clothing > [adjective] > fine, elegant, or smart

quaintc1330

nice1395

merryc1400

featc1430

elegant?c1500

mannerly1523

fine1526

neat1566

trim1675

smart1704

dressy1785

natty1794

good1809

dossy1889

dicty1932

whip-smart1937

zooty1943

sharp1944

preppy1963

c1330 Sir Orfeo (Auch.) (1966) 299 He seiȝe..Kniȝtes & leuedis com daunceing In queynt atire, gisely.

a1425 (?a1400) G. Chaucer Romaunt Rose (Hunterian) 65 The ground..makith so queynt his robe and faire That it hath hewes an hundred payre.

?a1450 (?c1400) Lay Folks' Catech. (Lamb.) (1901) 82 Ne worschipe not men for here fayre cloþes, ne for here qweynte schappis þat sum men vsen.

c1485 ( G. Hay Bk. Knychthede (1993) vii. 42 Quynte clething, and joly polist corps, falsate, tresoune [etc.]..is agayne the order of knychthede, and all gude thewis.

1501 G. Douglas Palace of Honour i. xlvi In vestures quent of mony sindrie gyse.

1592 R. Greene Quip for Vpstart Courtier sig. C2^v Costly attire, curious and quaint apparell is the spur that prickes them forward.

1627 P. Fletcher Locustæ i. xiii All lovely drest In beauties livery, and quaint devise.

1648 Earl of Westmorland Otia Sacra 70 I'l no longer make Addresses to my Glass for this Curles sake, Or that quaint garb, whereby I may enchanted be with flattery.

1691 J. Dunton Voy. round World III. i. 27 I have not put on the quaint garb of the Age..nor afflicted my Brain by an elaborate Leg; but my Scrape is homely.

†4.

a. Gracious, courteous; courtly, refined. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the world > action or operation > behaviour > good behaviour > courtesy > [adjective]

metheOE

hendc1225

debonairc1230

hendya1250

courteousc1275

hendlyc1275

bonairc1300

quaintc1300

sweetc1330

graciousa1375

meetha1400

debonary1402

debonariousc1485

humanec1500

civil1565

genty1660

discreet1739

polite1751

politeful1832

c1300 St. Edmund King (Harl.) l. 6 in F. J. Furnivall Early Eng. Poems & Lives Saints (1862) 87 (MED) Swiþe fair knyȝt he was..& swiþe curteys & quoynte.

c1330 (?c1300) Guy of Warwick (Auch.) l. 346 To hir he spac..Wiþ a wel queynt steuen.

a1375 (c1350) William of Palerne (1867) l. 4090 (MED) A ful loueli lady..comen was of gret kin & koynt hire-selue.

c1400 (?c1390) Sir Gawain & Green Knight (1940) l. 1525 Ȝe þat ar so cortays & coynt of your hetes Oghe to a Ȝonke þynk..teche sum tokenez of trweluf craftes.

c1426 J. Audelay Poems (1931) 192 (MED) Þise louele lade con grete her Chylde..Þis haylsyng was on coynt manere.

c1580 ( tr. Bk. Alexander (1927) III. ii. 7323 He was courtas, sueit and quent, And wysly spekand at all poynt. [Fr. Dous estoit et courtois et trés bien emparlés.]

1595 H. Roberts Pheander sig. E2^v It might haue bene admired amongst the Courtiers, his quaint behauiour, had they bene beholders thereof.

1599 George a Greene sig. F3^v Though we Yorkeshire men be blunt of speech, And litle skild in court, or such quaint fashions, Yet nature teacheth vs duetie to our king.

1637 J. Fletcher & P. Massinger Elder Brother sig. B2 The happy Father of two hopefull Sonnes, of different breeding; Th'elder, a meere Scholar, the younger, a queint Courtier.

1681 T. Otway Souldiers Fortune i. i. 3 Very Court-like, civil, quaint, and new I think.

b. Elegant; attractive; finely or fashionably dressed. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > attention and judgement > fashionableness > [adjective] > dandyish

quaintc1330

skipjack1598

satin1603

coxcombly1610

prigginga1627

coxcombical1649

skipjackly1674

jessamy1696

beauish1699

foppish1699

priggish1701

Jemmy Jessamine1786

macaronian1792

buckish1806

dandy1813

dandified1826

dandyish1826

Brummellian1829

dandyic1832

dandiacal1834

squirtish1843

macaronyish1858

fine-gentlemanish1865

foppy1878

dude1879

dudish1883

fancy1891

the mind > attention and judgement > beauty > [adjective] > specifically of persons

faireOE

sheenOE

brightOE

(the) sheenc1275

belc1314

pertc1330

quaintc1330

gaya1350

beau1399

formose14..

clearc1420

beautiful1509

venust1513

venereal1598

rare-beautied?1614

venerial1661

seraphic1765

nymphish1789

hyacinthine1847

bloomful1890

c1330 Seven Sages (Auch.) (1933) 2072 (MED) He..had a wif was queint and fair.

a1350 in G. L. Brook Harley Lyrics (1968) 31 (MED) Coynte ase columbine, such hire cunde ys.

a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) 28015 Yee leuedis..studis..hu to mak yow semle and quaint.

c1400 (a1376) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Trin. Cambr. R.3.14) (1960) A. ii. 14 A womman wondirliche cloþide..Þere nis no quen queyntere [v.rr. quoyntre, queyntur, qwayntour, koynter].

?c1450 tr. Bk. Knight of La Tour Landry (1906) 40 (MED) Folke shulde not haue thaire herte on the worlde, nor make hem queint to plese it.

1590 R. Greene Neuer too Late i. 50 He made himselfe as neate and quaint as might be.

a1616 W. Shakespeare Merry Wives of Windsor (1623) iv. vi. 40 Quaint in greene, she shall be loose en-roab'd.

a1616 W. Shakespeare Tempest (1623) i. ii. 319 Fine apparision: my queint Ariel, Hearke in thine eare.

1785 W. Cowper Task ii. 461 A body so fantastic, trim, And queint in its deportment and attire.

†5. Of speech, language, etc.: carefully or ingeniously elaborated; highly elegant or refined; clever, smart; (in later use also) affected. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

society > leisure > the arts > literature > style of language or writing > ornateness > [adjective] > euphuistic or precious

quaintc1395

fine1576

romantic1653

precious1712

précieuse1785

tortuous1801

euphuistical1823

euphuistic1828

précieux1891

c1395 G. Chaucer Canon's Yeoman's Tale 752 We semen wonder wise, Oure termes been so clergial and so queynte.

a1400 (c1303) R. Mannyng Handlyng Synne (Harl.) 3041 Ȝyf þou be prout þat þou art wys..Or yn þyn queynte wurdys hast pryde..euyl shal betyde.

a1475 Cato's Distichs (Rawl.) 381 in Englische Studien (1906) 36 33 (MED) I pray the fle Flateryng wordys, queynte and sle.

1513 G. Douglas in tr. Virgil Æneid i. Prol. 255 The quent and curious castis poeticall.

?1577 F. T. Debate Pride & Lowlines sig. Ciii^v Pleasaunt songes..To queynt and hard for me to vnderstand.

1655 E. Terry Voy. E.-India 232 The Persian there is spoken as their more quaint and Court-tongue.

1676 A. Marvell Mr. Smirke sig. K4 A good life is a Clergy man's best Syllogism, and the quaintest Oratory.

1712 R. Steele Spectator No. 450. ⁋1 A new Thought or Conceit dressed up in smooth quaint Language.

1783 E. Burke in 9th Rep. Commons Sel Comm. Bengal, Bahar, & Orissa 18 A Style,..full of quaint Terms and idiomatic phrases, which strongly bespeak English habits in the Way of Thinking.

1818 H. J. Todd Johnson's Dict. Eng. Lang. Neologism, a new and quaint expression.

1818 W. Hazlitt Lect. Eng. Poets vi. 228 The smart turns and quaint expression of an enigma or repartee in verse.

1847 R. W. Emerson Essays ii. 15 Beauty, convenience, grandeur of thought, and quaint expression are as near to us as to any.

†6. Dainty, fastidious; prim. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > attention and judgement > good taste > refinement > fastidiousness > [adjective]

chisa700

estfula1000

esquaymous1303

squeamousc1325

overnicec1350

curiousc1380

dangerousc1386

delicatea1393

preciousc1395

nicec1400

skigc1400

over-delicatea1425

daintethc1430

ticklec1456

quaint1483

dauncha1500

pickinga1500

feat?1529

elegant?1533

queasy1545

fine1546

fine-fingered1549

fastidious?1555

fine-mouthed1559

chary1567

weamish1571

saucy1573

dainty1576

superfine1576

niced1577

overcurious1579

nicing1581

fineish1582

prick-me-dainty1583

daint1590

finical1592

tiptoe-nice1593

nice1594

nicking1598

choice1601

squeamish1608

marchpane1609

hypercritical1611

particular1616

finicking1661

overcritical1667

just so1696

penurious1703

fal-lal1747

ogertful1754

nackety1756

quiddling1789

pernickety1808

pershittie1808

taffety1814

hypercritic1820

faddy1824

finicky1825

meticulous1827

daintified1834

squeamy1838

picksome1855

choosey1862

picky1867

hyperaesthetic1879

persnickety1885

précieux1891

perskeet1897

tasty1905

Nice Nelly1922

perfectionist1942

snicketya1960

perfectionistic1968

1483 W. Caxton tr. J. de Voragine Golden Legende 128 b/1 She chastyssed them that were nyce and queynte.

1579 G. Harvey Let.-bk. (1884) 73 The rest in a manner ar..overstale for so queynte and queasye a worlde.

1590 E. Spenser Faerie Queene iii. vii. sig. Ii2 She nothing quaint Nor s'deignfull of so homely fashion.

1595 T. Edwards Narcissus in Cephalus & Procris (1882) 45 Comfort to them that liuing die in loue, Hate to the scornfull and nice dames so quaint.

1640 R. Brome Sparagus Garden iii. vii, in Wks. (1873) III. 167 Your new infusion of pure blood, by your queint feeding on delicate meates and drinks.

1678 R. L'Estrange in tr. Seneca's Morals: Of Benefits To Rdr. p. xv Fabius..Taxes him..for being too Queint and Finical in his Expressions.

1784 W. Hayley Mausoleum i. i. 358 Whene'er a young widow's so prim, And by quaint affectation so cramp'd in each limb, A new husband alone, by his pliant embrace, Can restore her starch'd form to its natural grace.

1787 H. J. Pye Poems I. 116 Oft the experienc'd shooter will deride This quaint exactness of fastidious pride.

1849 C. Brontë Shirley III. vi. 150 Caroline..would precisely suit the domestic habits of a certain fastidious kinsman of mine: so delicate, dexterous, quaint, quick, quiet; all done to a minute, all arranged to a strawbreadth.

†II. Proud.

7. Proud; haughty; vain. Obsolete (archaic in later use).

ΘΚΠ

the mind > emotion > pride > [adjective]

highOE

rankOE

proudOE

quaint?c1225

stoutc1315

proud-heartedc1400

gobbedc1440

pridyc1485

high-minded?1503

superb1561

proud-heart1591

tiptoe1593

sublime1596

high-headed1599

magnificent1603

side1673

vaunty1724

perked-up1754

spicy1768

jelly1828

Latin1914

?c1225 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 113 Þe flesch isher ed hame..& cointe [a1250 Nero cwointe] & kene as curre on his Mixne.

1340 Ayenbite (1866) 89 Þo þet makeþ ham zuo quaynte of þe ilke poure noblesse þet hi habbeþ of hare moder þe erþe.

a1425 (?a1400) G. Chaucer Romaunt Rose (Hunterian) 3079 Ryght nygh the botoun pullede he A leef all grene, and yaff me that..I made [read I made me; Fr. me fis] of that leef full queynt [Fr. moult cointe].

c1450 tr. G. Deguileville Pilgrimage Lyfe Manhode (Cambr.) (1869) 115 (MED) I hatte orgoill, the queynte [Fr. la bobanciere], the feerce hornede beste.

a1475 (?a1430) J. Lydgate tr. G. Deguileville Pilgrimage Life Man (Vitell.) 14190 My name ys ‘that wyl feynte Euere to be nyce and queynte’.

1610 G. Fletcher Christs Victorie 41 Queint Pride Hath taught her Sonnes to wound their mothers side.

III. Curious, unusual.

8. Strange, unusual, unfamiliar (in character or appearance); curious, remarkable; mysterious. Now English regional (northern).In quot. c1325: supernatural, magic.

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-

c1325 (c1300) Chron. Robert of Gloucester (Calig.) 1555 (MED) Hii ȝeue him an quointe [v.r. koynte] drench, mid childe vor to be.

c1350 (a1333) William of Shoreham Poems (1902) 76 (MED) Ihesus..onne-schette þe queynte loken Þat spek of þe alde lawe.

c1425 J. Lydgate Troyyes Bk. (Augustus A.iv) ii. l. 7693 (MED) In þat lond ful diuersly hem schewe Many liknes, queint and monstruous, Bestis vnkouþe, to siȝt meruelous.

c1450 ( G. Chaucer Bk. Duchess 1330 Thys ys so queynt a sweven.

a1500 (?a1425) Ipomedon (Harl.) (1889) 1637 Right vnsemely on queynte manere He hym dight.

1513 G. Douglas in tr. Virgil Æneid iii. Prol. 12 Now moist I write..Wyld auentouris, monstreis and qwent affrayis.

c1540 (?a1400) Gest Historiale Destr. Troy 7715 There come..a coynt mon of shappe..ffro the Nauell netherward he was an able horse.

1579 E. Spenser Shepheardes Cal. Oct. 114 With queint Bellona in her equipage.

1645 J. Milton On Christ's Nativity: Hymn xxi, in Poems 10 A drear, and dying sound Affrights the Flamins at their service quaint.

1714 A. Pope Chaucer's Wife of Bath in R. Steele Poet. Misc. 17 How quaint an Appetite in Women reigns! Free Gifts we scorn, and love what costs us Pains.

1788 W. Beckford Spanish Jrnl. 21 Jan. (1954) 318 Our party consisted solely of Silva the Secretary and two sorrowful beings, the Duke of Sangro and the Russian Minister, one of the quaintest of God's creatures.

1808 W. Scott Marmion iii. xx. 153 Came forth, a quaint and fearful sight.

a1903 H. E. Wroot in Eng. Dial. Dict. (1903) IV. 676/1 E. Yorkshire. It's waint weather.

a. Attractively or agreeably unusual in character or appearance; esp. pleasingly old-fashioned. Now the usual sense.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > attention and judgement > attractiveness > [adjective] > quaint

quaint1762

1762 W. Whitehead Charge to Poets 17 Tir'd with th'ambiguous tale, or antique phrase..Some heedless pass: while some with transport view each quaint old word.

1796 R. Southey Joan of Arc viii. 234 He for the wintry hour Knew many a merry ballad and quaint tale.

1808 W. Scott Marmion ii. iii. 81 For this, with carving rare and quaint, She decked the chapel of the saint.

1824 W. Irving Tales of Traveller I. 91 The streaks of light and shadow thrown among the quaint articles of furniture.

1863 A. P. Stanley Lect. Jewish Church I. x. 236 Their device is full of the quaint humour which marks its antiquity.

1884 J. T. Bent in Macmillan's Mag. Oct. 434/2 The herdsmen were much quainter and more entertaining than our city-born muleteers.

1905 H. James Let. 18 Dec. in H. James & E. Wharton Lett. (1990) i. 57 Quaint tributes already beginning to cluster on my mantel shelf.

1941 E. Bowen Look at All Those Roses 121 Isabelle pointed to..the quaint old sign of the Spotted Cow, which made all children laugh—Hermione did not smile.

1994 Reminisce July 5/2 Some of those social courtesies seem a little quaint nowadays.

2004 P. J. Conradi Going Buddhist 176 The Bhutanese, by royal edict, wear quaint but workaday folk-costume.

b. Of furniture: designed in the style of art nouveau. Now rare.

ΘΚΠ

society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > furniture and fittings > [adjective] > types of furniture generally

standing1444

plush1615

Queen Elizabeth1673

occasional1749

Adametic1774

French-polished1836

upholstered1837

Adamish1838

Chippendale1855

Queen Anne1863

knock-down1875

Wellington chest1880

Adamesque1881

Sheraton1883

Hepplewhite1897

quaint1897

bombé1904

lowboy1915

Jacobean1918

overstuffed1922

spool1928

Williamsburg1931

thermed1952

stackable1958

Scandinavian1959

wall-to-wall1959

Populuxe1986

1897 Furnit. & Decoration 34 197/1 That new style called ‘Quaint’, which seems to be carcase without the spirit of the new style promulgated by the Arts and Crafts and other societies.

1952 J. Gloag Short Dict. Furnit. 377 A fashion in furniture design, corresponding with the New Art movement at the end of the 19th and the opening of the present century, was known as the quaint style.

1975 Country Life 2 Oct. 852/3 The spindly chairs and tables of the ‘quaint’ vogue.

†B. adv.

In a quaint manner; skilfully, cunningly. Obsolete (rare after 16th cent.).

ΘΚΠ

the world > action or operation > ability > skill or skilfulness > cunning > [adverb]

foxlyc1175

craftilyc1225

craftlyc1225

slylyc1275

fellyc1300

quaintc1300

quaintlyc1325

sleightlyc1330

subtly1340

sly1370

espyinglya1382

wisely1390

wililya1400

wilyc1400

subtilelyc1405

ginnouslya1425

semylyc1440

serpentlya1450

small?c1450

cautelously1477

politicly1477

sleightfullyc1480

artificiously1536

insidiously1545

sleightily1549

artificially1566

cunningly1603

versutely1616

artfully1631

subdolously1638

serpentinely1656

slimlya1680

pawkily1714

politically1764

trickfullyc1790

trickishly1824

leerily1859

dodgily1868

trickily1895

foxily1933

the world > action or operation > ability > skill or skilfulness > [adverb] > with skill or art > ingeniously

craftilyeOE

wiselya1000

guisily13..

quaintc1300

quaintlyc1300

subtly1340

cunningly?a1400

subtilelyc1405

prettilyc1450

industriouslyc1487

ingeniously1548

clerkly1594

ambidextrously1657

c1300 St. Michael (Laud) 71 in C. Horstmann Early S.-Eng. Legendary (1887) 301 (MED) Þo founden huy ane churche þere, swyþe quoynte a-ferd.

a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Fairf. 14) 5511 Ȝou be-houys to wirke ful quaynte and in þaire dedis ham attaynt.

?a1425 (?a1350) T. Castleford Chron. (1940) 20971 (MED) Arthur mar quaint he bar his sper.

c1450 (c1380) G. Chaucer House of Fame 245 What shulde I speke more queynte, Or peyne me my wordes peynte To speke of love?

1554 D. Lindsay Dialog Experience & Courteour Prol. sig. Bii Fresche flora, spred furth hir tapestrie Wrocht be dame Nature quent and curiouslie.

1875 A. Cambridge Manor House & Other Poems 9 'Tis a sweet garden, is it not? So wild and tangled, nothing prim; No quaint-cut bed, no shaven plot, no stunted bushes, stiff and trim.

C. n.²

1. A curious or clever ornament or device. Also: a cunning trick. Now rare.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > deceit, deception, trickery > [noun] > a trick, deception

wrenchc888

swikec893

braida1000

craftOE

wile1154

crookc1175

trokingc1175

guile?c1225

hocket1276

blink1303

errorc1320

guileryc1330

sleightc1340

knackc1369

deceitc1380

japec1380

gaudc1386

syllogism1387

mazec1390

mowa1393

train?a1400

trantc1400

abusionc1405

creekc1405

trickc1412

trayc1430

lirtc1440

quaint?a1450

touch1481

pawka1522

false point?1528

practice1533

crink1534

flim-flamc1538

bobc1540

fetcha1547

abuse1551

block1553

wrinklec1555

far-fetch?a1562

blirre1570

slampant1577

ruse1581

forgery1582

crank1588

plait1589

crossbite1591

cozenage1592

lock1598

quiblin1605

foist1607

junt1608

firk1611

overreach?1615

fob1622

ludification1623

knick-knacka1625

flam1632

dodge1638

gimcrack1639

fourbe1654

juggle1664

strategy1672

jilt1683

disingenuity1691

fun1699

jugglementa1708

spring1753

shavie1767

rig?1775

deception1794

Yorkshire bite1795

fakement1811

fake1829

practical1833

deceptivity1843

tread-behind1844

fly1861

schlenter1864

Sinonism1864

racket1869

have1885

ficelle1890

wheeze1903

fast one1912

roughie1914

spun-yarn trick1916

fastie1931

phoney baloney1933

fake-out1955

okey-doke1964

mind-fuck1971

the world > action or operation > advantage > usefulness > use (made of things) > instrumentality > [noun] > (a) means > equipment for any action or undertaking > a device or contrivance

compassinga1300

graithc1375

jetc1380

cautelc1440

quaint?a1450

invention1546

trick1548

frame1558

fashion1562

device1570

conveyance1596

address1598

molition1598

fabric1600

machine1648

fancy1665

art1667

fanglementa1670

convenience1671

conveniency1725

contraption1825

affair1835

rig1845

?a1450 in C. von Nolcken Middle Eng. Transl. Rosarium Theol. (1979) 61 Anticrist..seiþ hym a lion in his couche..þat it is seide ‘in his couche’, it is quey [n] tez or deceyuyngz.

c1450 (?a1400) Wars Alexander (Ashm.) l. 4917 (MED) A bedd..was gayly begane..With curtyns all of clene silke..With cumly knottis & with koyntis & knopis of perle.

a1500 Piers of Fulham (James) in W. C. Hazlitt Remains Early Pop. Poetry Eng. (1866) II. 7 (MED) A queynt ys vsyd, a quayle pype..Makeynge a noyse in suche manere, Wenyng the quayle yt were hyr fere.

1939 F. D. Walker San Francisco's Lit. Frontier iv. 97 Handicapped by the popularity of Dan de Quille's elaborate ‘quaints’, including the latter's famous magnetic rocks and air-conditioned helmets, he was hard pressed to establish his own reputation.

2. With the. That which is quaint (in sense A. 9a).

ΚΠ

1925 A. Huxley Along Road iii. 200 What I may call ‘arty-craftiness’ or ‘peasantry’ is a Tolstoyan derivation from the quaint.

1988 Jrnl. Design Hist. 1 137/1 Pure reversal emerges in design terms as the pseudo-babble of the cult of kitsch, the pursuit of the quaint.

1994 Jrnl. Canad. Stud. Spring 118 The..‘overrating’ of the quaint and marginal is most often found in the work of dilettantes, amateurs, and self-declared folklorists.

3. A strange or unusual person. rare.

ΘΚΠ

the world > relative properties > order > disorder > irregularity > unconformity > abnormality > [noun] > oddness > odd person

singularist1593

singularitan1615

queer fellow1712

oddity1731

unaccountable1748

character1773

rum1788

eccentric1832

card1835

card1853

hard case1892

queer shot1900

rummy1909

hard thing1918

hardshot1924

quaint1939

odd bod1942

oddball1943

joker in the pack1963

quirky1975

1939 J. Cary Mister Johnson 112 ‘He's a comic, isn't he?’ ‘A perfect quaint.’

1959 B. W. Aldiss Canopy of Time 164 What's it matter what a broken-down quaint like Stayker said or didn't say?

Phrases

† to make it quaint: to behave or speak in an ingenious or elaborate manner esp. in order to mislead; to dissemble; to behave in a courteous or refined manner. Also (frequently with tough): to behave proudly or disdainfully (cf. to make it tough at tough adj. 8). Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > attention and judgement > contempt > think or behave contemptuously [verb (intransitive)]

skirpc1175

to make it quainta1393

flout1575

to wipe a person's nose1577

the mind > emotion > pride > haughtiness or disdainfulness > be haughty or disdainful [verb (intransitive)]

to make it quainta1393

to have pepper in the nosea1400

lord1548

lord1563

to stand (also be, walk, etc.) upon (one's) pantofles1573

cavalier1594

to stand on (or upon) high terms1611

high-hat1922

a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) i. 283 (MED) Schrifte..mot be plein; It nedeth noght to make it queinte, For trowthe hise wordes wol noght peinte.

a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) v. 4623 O traiteresse..Thou hast gret peine wel deserved, That thou canst maken it so queinte, Thi slyhe wordes forto peinte Towardes me.

?c1400 Erthe upon Erthe (St. John's Cambr.) st. 8, in Archiv f. das Studium der Neueren Sprachen (1919) 138 54 Ȝit schal þou..make þou it neuere so queynte and gay, Out of þis erþe in-to erþe.

a1425 (?a1400) G. Chaucer Romaunt Rose (Hunterian) 2038 I..made it in my port full queynt.

?c1425 T. Hoccleve Jonathas (Durh.) l. 642 in Minor Poems (1970) i. 238 He thoghte nat to make it qweynte and tow.

a1450 (c1412) T. Hoccleve De Regimine Principum (Harl. 4866) (1897) l. 3521 (MED) Make it noght so tow, ffor of thy birthe art þou noght wort a leek..Ne make it nat so qweynte.

c1450 ( G. Chaucer Bk. Duchess 531 How goodly spak thys knyght..He made hyt nouther towgh ne queynte.

c1450 tr. G. Deguileville Pilgrimage Lyfe Manhode (Cambr.) (1869) ii. cvi. 115 With alle myne joyntes stiryinge and with alle my sinewes j make it queynte [Fr. tous mes ners fas cointoier.]

a1500 (a1460) Towneley Plays (1897–1973) 375 (MED) When she is thus paynt, she makys it so quaynte, She lookys like a saynt, And wars then the deyle.

Compounds

With adjectives and participles, as quaint-carved, †quaint-eyed, †quaint-felt, quaint-looking, quaint-mouthed, quaint-shaped, quaint-sounding, quaint-spoken, quaint-stomached, quaint-tempered, †quaint-witty, quaint-worded, etc., adjectives. Now rare.

ΚΠ

a1425 Medulla Gram. (Stonyhurst) f. 61 Sophionicus, queynt tempred.

c1450 Cato's Distichs (Sidney Sussex) l. 364 in Englische Studien (1906) 36 32 (MED) Flatereng men, subtile and sle, And queinte-ispoken I prei þe fle.

1575 G. Harvey Let.-bk. (1884) 91 Thou arte so queyntefelt In thy rondelett.

1598 J. Marston Certaine Satyres in Metamorph. Pigmalions Image 34 Like no quaint stomack't man [he] Eates vp his armes.

1603 J. Florio tr. M. de Montaigne Ess. i. xxxvi. 115 A quaint-wittie, and loftie conceit.

1744 M. Akenside Pleasures Imagination iii. 250 Where'er the pow'r of ridicule displays Her quaint-ey'd visage.

1836 C. Dickens Sketches by Boz 2nd Ser. 178 An old quaint-looking apartment, with sunken windows, and black carved wainscotting.

1838 J. R. Lowell Class Poem ix. 11 What quaint-mouthed sentences! and how profound!

1853 G. P. R. James Agnes Sorel I. i. 7 The tall, quaint-shaped window.

1859 J. G. Whittier On Prayer Bk. in Independent (N.Y.) 15 Sept. 1/1 The quaint-carved, Gothic door.

1863 A. B. Grosart Small Sins (ed. 2) 17 Their quaint-worded dispositions and distinctions.

1912 ‘Saki’ Unbearable Bassington i. 12 That comfortable quaint-shaped room of angles and bays and alcoves.

1922 R. Leighton Compl. Bk. Dog xii. 178 Most people are well acquainted with the personal appearance of this quaint-looking dog.

1957 A. N. Prior Time & Modality 55 ‘The True’ and ‘The False’ are certainly quaint-sounding objects to be named by phrases like ‘The conquest of Gaul by Caesar’.

2006 S. Wales Evening Post (Nexis) 8 Sept. 2 The quaint-looking pub had a couple sitting out on the balcony, basking in the sun and enjoying a quiet pint.

This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2007; most recently modified version published online June 2022).

单词	quaint
释义	quaintn.¹ Brit. /kweɪnt/, U.S. /kweɪnt/ Forms: Middle English queynte, Middle English 2000s– queynt, 1500s queint, 1500s–1600s quaint. Origin: Formed within English, by conversion. Etymon: quaint adj. Etymology: < quaint adj. (compare later quaint n.²), either punningly after cunt n. or as a euphemistic substitution for that word. Now archaic (rare after late 16th cent.) The female external genitals. Cf. cunt n. ΘΚΠ the world > life > the body > sex organs > female sex organs > [noun] > vagina quaintc1330 quivera1382 tailc1390 mousetrapc1500 cunnigar1550 placket1595 buttonhole1600 bumble broth1602 touch-hole1602 case1606 keyhole1607 vagina1612 nicka1625 nunquam satis1633 lock1640 twat1656 cockpit1658 Whitechapel portion?1695 tuzzy-muzzy1710 niche1749 can1772 bumbo1774 fuckhole1893 jelly roll1895 mole-catcher1896 manhole1916 vag1967 stank1980 pum-pum1983 punani1987 c1330 (?a1300) Sir Tristrem (1886) l. 2254 (MED) Hir queynt abouen hir kne, Naked þe kniȝtes knewe. c1390 G. Chaucer Miller's Tale 3276 This hende Nicholas Fil with this yonge wyf to rage and pleye..and pryuely he caughte hire by the queynte. c1415 (c1395) G. Chaucer Wife of Bath's Tale (Corpus Oxf.) (1872) 608 And trewely, as myn housbond tolde me, I hadde þe beste queynte [Hengwrt quonyam] þat mighte be. c1576 T. Whythorne Autobiogr. (1961) 128 A queint, A queint, hee kried bianby. 1598 J. Florio Worlde of Wordes A womans quaint or priuities. 1659 G. Torriano Florio's Vocabolario Italiano & Inglese Dóndola, any thing, toy, fancy, or conceit to passe away the time withall, any dalliance, dandling, or wantonizing.., by Met. a womans quaint. 2002 S. Home 69 Things to do with Dead Princess ix. 117 A large dildo had been screwed into Dudley's groin and Alan was attempting to ram this up my queynt. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2007; most recently modified version published online March 2022). quaintadj.adv.n.² Brit. /kweɪnt/, U.S. /kweɪnt/ Forms: α. Middle English coint, Middle English cointe, Middle English cointt, Middle English coynnt, Middle English coynt, Middle English cuinte, Middle English cwointe, Middle English cwuinte, Middle English kointe, Middle English koynt, Middle English koynte, Middle English quinte, Middle English qunte, Middle English quointe, Middle English quoynt, Middle English quoynte, Middle English quynte, Middle English–1500s coynte, 1500s quyent; Scottish pre-1700 quynt, pre-1700 quynte, 1900s– quint (Orkney). β. Middle English koweynte, Middle English quainte, Middle English quant, Middle English quante, Middle English quent, Middle English quente, Middle English queyte (transmission error), Middle English quiant (in a late copy), Middle English qwaint (in a late copy), Middle English qwantt, Middle English qwaynt, Middle English qwaynte, Middle English qwent, Middle English qweynt, Middle English qweynte, Middle English–1500s quaynt, Middle English–1500s quaynte, Middle English–1500s queinte, Middle English–1500s (1900s– archaic) queynte, Middle English–1600s queynt, Middle English–1700s queint, Middle English– quaint; Scottish pre-1700 quant, pre-1700 quaynt, pre-1700 quent, pre-1700 queynt, pre-1700 qwaynt, pre-1700 qwent, pre-1700 1700s– quaint; N.E.D. (1902) also records a form Middle English qwantte. γ. Middle English qwhaynt, Middle English waynt, Middle English wente, Middle English whaynt, Middle English whaynte, Middle English wheynte; English regional (northern) 1600s 1800s– wheint, 1600s– whaint, 1700s whunt, 1700s– wheant, 1700s– whent, 1800s weant, 1800s– waint, 1800s– waynt, 1800s– weeant, 1800s– went, 1800s– went; Scottish 1900s– whint; N.E.D. (1902) also records a form Middle English quhaynte. Origin: A borrowing from French. Etymon: French cointe. Etymology: < Anglo-Norman cointe, cuente, cuinte, kointe, quaint, queinte, quint, quointe and Old French, Middle French cointe clever, astute, quick-witted, experienced, expert (11th cent.), crafty, cunning (12th cent.), brave (12th cent.), gracious, elegant, pleasant, smart, fashionable (12th cent.), devious, underhand (12th cent. in Anglo-Norman), arrogant (12th cent. in Anglo-Norman), (as noun) trick, deceit (13th cent. in Anglo-Norman), (of a thing) ingenious (c1272 in Anglo-Norman) < classical Latin cognitus known (see cognitum n.), in post-classical Latin also wise, clever, sensible (6th cent.). In continental French ‘gracious, elegant, pleasant, smart, fashionable’ is the dominant sense from the Middle French period onwards (French coint, also cointe nice, pleasant (now archaic)); this sense appears to have spread to Old French from Old Occitan coinde, cueinde, conge, etc. (a1126).With use as noun compare earlier quaint n.¹ Also found early as a surname (Hugo le Cuint (1208)), although it is uncertain whether this reflects the Anglo-Norman or the Middle English word. A. adj. I. Cunning, ingenious; elaborate, elegant. †1. a. Of a person: cunning, crafty, given to scheming or plotting. Obsolete (archaic in later use). ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > ability > skill or skilfulness > cunning > [adjective] warec888 craftyOE hinderyeapc1000 yepec1000 foxc1175 slya1200 hinderc1200 quaint?c1225 wrenchfulc1225 wiltfula1250 wilyc1330 subtle1340 cautelous138. sleightful1380 subtile1387 enginousa1393 wilfula1400 wilyc1407 sleighty1412 serpentinec1422 ginnousa1425 wittya1425 semyc1440 artificial?a1475 sleight1495 slapea1500 shrewdc1525 craftly1526 foxy1528 gleering?1533 foxish1535 insidious1545 vafrous1548 wily beguile1550 wilely1556 fine1559 todly1571 practic1585 subdolous1588 captious1590 witryff1598 cautel1606 cunninga1616 versute1616 shiftfula1618 artificious1624 insidiary1625 canny1628 lapwing-like1638 pawky?a1640 tricksome1648 callid1656 versutious1660 artful1663 slim1674 dexterous1701 trickish1705 supple1710 slid1719 vulpinary1721 tricksy1766 trickful1775 sneck-drawing1786 tricky1786 louche1819 sneck-drawn1820 slyish1828 vulpine1830 kokum1839 spidery1843 dodgy1861 ladino1863 carney1881 slinky1951 ?c1225 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 244 Þeos cointe [a1250 Nero kointe; a1250 Titus cwointe; a1300 Caius cuinte] harloz..hare flowinde cweise. þet ha putteð eauer forð. c1325 (c1300) Chron. Robert of Gloucester (Calig.) 2293 (MED) Vortiger, þe quoynte suike..was erl of cornwaile. 1402 T. Hoccleve Lepistre Cupide (Huntington) l. 152 in Minor Poems (1970) ii. 298 Al be it þat men fynde o womman..Sly, qweynte & fals..It folwith nat swiche alle wommen be. a1475 Childhood Jesus (Harl. 3954) 337 in C. Horstmann Sammlung Altengl. Legenden (1878) 105 (MED) Alle þei gun Jhesu to banne..Hee kallyn hym þan a qwent syre. 1513 G. Douglas tr. Virgil Æneid ii. i. 59 Knaw ȝe nocht bettir the quent Vlexes slycht? 1571 Disc. tviching Estait sig. A.vii Ane inuentioun of thay quent curteouris. c1600 (?c1395) Pierce Ploughman's Crede (Trin. Cambr. R.3.15) (1873) 482 ‘Dere broþer’ quaþ Peres ‘þe devell is ful queynte’. 1673 J. Ray N. Countrey Words in Coll. Eng. Words 53 A wheint lad q. queint: a fine lad: ironice dictum. Chesh. 1680 T. Otway Orphan iii. 25 The quaint, smooth Rogue, that sins against his Reason. 1814 tr. Bk. Heroes in Illustr. Northern Antiq. 160 The dwarf is quaint, and full of guile, then beware his cunning sleight. b. Clever, ingenious; wise, knowing; skilled. Obsolete.In later use frequently with reference to the skilled use of language; cf. sense A. 5. ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > ability > skill or skilfulness > [adjective] > ingenious craftlyOE craftyOE quainta1250 enginefulc1400 maliciousc1425 industriousc1487 curious1489 ingenious1576 daedal1590 Daedalian1607 fertile-headed1632 knacky1710 supple1710 tricksome1821 tactical1883 tricky1887 fertile-brained1894 the mind > mental capacity > understanding > intelligence, cleverness > wit, wittiness > [adjective] quainta1250 conceitive1579 conceited1583 conceity1589 conceitful1594 wittya1616 sharply-conceived1630 smart1639 mercurial1647 spiritual1701 wittified1742 scintillant1764 witful1765 a1250 (?c1200) St. Katherine (Titus) (1981) 408 Hwuch wis read of se cointe [c1225 Royal icudd; c1225 Bodl. cud] keiser, makie se monie clerkes to cumen..to moten wið ameiden? c1300 St. Thomas Apostle (Harl.) 170 in C. D'Evelyn & A. J. Mill S. Eng. Legendary (1956) 577 Þe beste carpenter & queynteste þat ich euer iseȝ. c1350 Psalter (BL Add. 17376) in K. D. Bülbring Earliest Compl. Eng. Prose Psalter (1891) cxviii. 98 (MED) Þou madest me quainte [v.r. wys; L. prudentem] vp myn enemis to þi comaundement. c1400 (?c1380) Cleanness (1920) 160 (MED) Stik hym stifly in stokez..to teche hym be quoynt. a1500 (?a1425) Ipomedon (Harl.) (1889) 1416 (MED) A queynter knyght is not in land. 1501 G. Douglas Palace of Honour i. lxv Ȝit clerkis bene in subtell wordis quent, And in the deid als schairp as ony snaillis. c1540 (?a1400) Gest Historiale Destr. Troy 1531 He..Gate masons..Qwariours qweme, qwaint men of wit. 1594 W. Shakespeare Henry VI, Pt. 2 iii. ii. 277 To trie how quaint an Orator you were. a1616 W. Shakespeare Taming of Shrew (1623) iii. iii. 20 Wee'll ouer-reach..The quaint Musician. View more context for this quotation a1628 J. Preston New Covenant (1634) 273 If you would preach as other men do, and be curious and quaint of Oratory. 1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Æneis xi, in tr. Virgil Wks. 559 Talk on, ye quaint Haranguers of the Crowd. 1728 J. Morgan Compl. Hist. Algiers I. vi. 176 The Arabs in general are quaint, bold, hospitable, and generous, excessive Lovers of Eloquence and Poesy. 1825 B. Proctor in Edinb. Rev. Aug. 55 We had almost forgotten to mention Donne, a quaint writer, somewhat earlier than Fanshawe. 1834 M. R. Mitford Charles I iii. i. 37 A hollow glittering crown, Shaped by some quaint and cunning goldsmith. 2. Of an action, scheme, device, etc.: characterized or marked by cleverness, ingenuity, or cunning. Now rare and archaic. ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > ability > skill or skilfulness > [adjective] > ingenious > characterized by ingenuity craftlyOE quaintc1230 sly1297 subtilea1393 subtlea1400 cunning1423 prettyc1450 ingenious1548 politicc1550 well-contrived1563 conceited1579 well-invented1588 concepted1594 nimble1602 artful1605 artly?1614 artistical1646 callid1656 well-couched1671 tippy1863 genius1924 creative1967 c1230 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Corpus Cambr.) (1962) 152 Ure lauerd..brohte swa to grunde his [sc. the Devil's] cointe [a1250 Titus cwuinte] couerschipe. c1300 St. Clement (Laud) 551 in C. Horstmann Early S.-Eng. Legendary (1887) 339 (MED) Þare is nouþe seint clementes churche, I-mad with quoynte gynne. c1330 (?a1300) Arthour & Merlin (Auch.) (1973) 4447 (MED) Morgein..wiþ hir queint gin Bigiled þe gode clerk Merlin. a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1872) IV. 429 Iosephus..fonde up a queynte craft [v.r. coynt; ?a1475 anon. tr comente; L. commentum] and heng wete cloþes uppon þe toun walles. a1439 J. Lydgate Fall of Princes (Bodl. 263) iii. 27 (MED) Dreed & onkunnyng..with ther subtil crepyng in most queynte Ha maad my sperit..for to feynte. c1450 (a1375) Octavian (Calig.) (1979) 1033 (MED) Þe helm was of queynte kest; A borys heed stood on þe crest. a1500 (a1460) Towneley Plays (1897–1973) 135 (MED) This was a qwantt gawde and a far cast; It was a hee frawde. 1522 Worlde & Chylde (de Worde) (1909) sig. A.ii^v I can many a quaynte game. 1598 S. Rowlands Betraying of Christ 10 When traitor meets, these quaint deceits he had. 1652 R. Brome Joviall Crew ii. sig. E2 I..over-heard you in your queint designe, to new create your selves. 1659 R. Brathwait Panthalia 116 He practised one device, which of all others was most quaint and remarkable. 1742 W. Shenstone School-mistress xii With quaint Arts the giddy Crowd she sways. 1762 L. Sterne Life Tristram Shandy VI. xi. 50 They are musical terms, and have a meaning;—and as he was a musical man, I will make no doubt, but that by some quaint application of such metaphors to the compositions in hand, they impressed very distinct ideas of their several characters upon his fancy. 1820 J. Keats Eve of St. Agnes in Lamia & Other Poems 95 A casement high and triple-arch'd..And diamonded with panes of quaint device. 1854 M. R. Mitford Otto of Wittelsbach iii. i. 220 Ye might spend a day upon the winding stair Ere ye could trace the groove, so quaint and cunning The workmanship! 1889 ‘M. Twain’ Connecticut Yankee iv. 53 This quaint lie was most simply and beautifully told. 1902 A. M. Machar Lays True North & Other Poems 64 Stainless marble, carven fine By cunning sculptor in a quaint design. 1909 E. Pound Personae 31 Ponder in silence o'er earth's queynt devyse. 1970 C. Hampton Philanthropist i. 13 John puts the revolver into his mouth and presses the trigger. Loud explosion. By some quaint device, gobs of brain and bright blood appear on the whitewashed wall. †3. a. Cunningly or ingeniously designed or contrived; made with skill or art; elaborate. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > ability > skill or skilfulness > [adjective] > having practical, operative, or constructive skill > skilfully made or wrought craftyOE well-wrought?c1225 broidenc1230 quaintc1300 craftily?c1335 craftiousc1400 hagherc1400 well-madec1475 artificial1490 well-framed1532 well-fashioned1542 crafted?1548 well-laboured1550 finished1582 well built1605 well-arted?1611 composeda1616 technical1656 affabrous1755 well-worked1865 technic1877 well-crafted1926 c1300 11000 Virgins (Laud) 62 in C. Horstmann Early S.-Eng. Legendary (1887) 88 (MED) He liet heom makien a quoynte schip. a1325 St. Patrick (Corpus Cambr.) 156 in C. D'Evelyn & A. J. Mill S. Eng. Legendary (1956) 90 (MED) Þer aboute..Queinte pilers and arches were. c1400 (?c1390) Sir Gawain & Green Knight (1940) 999 (MED) Wele waxez in vche a won..at mes & at mele, messes ful quaynt. c1450 (c1380) G. Chaucer House of Fame 1925 And ever mo..This queynte hous aboute wente That never mo hyt stille stente. c1450 (a1400) Libeaus Desconus (Calig. A.ii) (1969) 1571 (MED) Þe bordur of ermyne Nas non so queynte of gyn. 1627 M. Drayton Nimphidia in Battaile Agincourt 131 He told th' arming of each ioynt, In euery piece, how neate, and quaint. 1631 J. Shirley Traytor iv. ii Who knows But he may marry her, and discharge his Duchess With a quaint salad? 1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost ix. 35 Emblazon'd Shields, Impreses quaint . View more context for this quotation 1746 J. Warton Ode iii. (R.) Here ancient art her dædal fancies play'd In the quaint mazes of the crisped roof. 1814 tr. Song of Nibelungen in Illustr. Northern Antiq. 188 No hero on this middle earth, but Sir Siegfried, I avow, Without some engine quaint, could draw the mighty bow. b. Skilfully made so as to have an attractive appearance; beautiful, pretty, fine, dainty. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the mind > attention and judgement > beauty > pleasing appearance > [adjective] faireOE comelyOE winlyOE goodlyOE hendya1250 hendc1275 quaintc1300 seemlyc1305 tidya1325 avenant1340 honestc1384 sightya1387 properc1390 well beseena1393 queema1400 speciousa1400 featousc1400 parisantc1400 rekenc1400 well-favoureda1438 wellc1450 spectable?a1475 delicatec1480 jollya1500 bonny?a1513 snog1513 viewlyc1536 goodlikec1550 sightly1555 sightful1565 beholdinga1586 eyesome?1587 decent1600 vage1604 prospicuous1605 eyely1614 fashionable1630 well-looking1638 softa1643 fineish1647 well-looked1660 of a good (also ugly, etc.) look1700 likely-looked1709 sonsy1720 smiling1725 aspectable1731 smirkya1758 likely-looking1771 respectable1776 magnificent-looking1790 producible1792 presentable1800 good-looking1804 nice-looking1807 bonnyish1855 spick1882 eyeable1887 aegyo2007 c1300 St. Agatha (Laud) 13 in C. Horstmann Early S.-Eng. Legendary (1887) 194 (MED) Þis hore..bi-hete hire quoynte þingus fale of seluer and of golde. c1400 (?c1390) Sir Gawain & Green Knight (1940) 877 (MED) A cheyer..Watz grayþed..with cloþez, Whyssynes vpon queldepoyntes þa koynt wer boþe. a1425 (?a1400) G. Chaucer Romaunt Rose (Hunterian) 98 A sylvre nedle forth y drough, Out of an aguler queynt [Fr. mignot et gent] ynough. c1540 (?a1400) Destr. Troy 777 An ymage full nobill..þat qwaint was & qwem, all of white siluer. 1596 E. Spenser Second Pt. Faerie Queene iv. x. sig. K Nor hart could wish for any queint deuice, But there it present was, and did fraile sense entice. View more context for this quotation 1645 J. Milton Arcades in Poems 54 To nurse the Saplings tall, and curl the grove With Ringlets quaint. 1671 J. Milton Samson Agonistes 1303 In his hand A Scepter or quaint staff he bears. View more context for this quotation c. Of dress: fine, fashionable, elegant. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > types or styles of clothing > [adjective] > fine, elegant, or smart quaintc1330 nice1395 merryc1400 featc1430 elegant?c1500 mannerly1523 fine1526 neat1566 trim1675 smart1704 dressy1785 natty1794 good1809 dossy1889 dicty1932 whip-smart1937 zooty1943 sharp1944 preppy1963 c1330 Sir Orfeo (Auch.) (1966) 299 He seiȝe..Kniȝtes & leuedis com daunceing In queynt atire, gisely. a1425 (?a1400) G. Chaucer Romaunt Rose (Hunterian) 65 The ground..makith so queynt his robe and faire That it hath hewes an hundred payre. ?a1450 (?c1400) Lay Folks' Catech. (Lamb.) (1901) 82 Ne worschipe not men for here fayre cloþes, ne for here qweynte schappis þat sum men vsen. c1485 ( G. Hay Bk. Knychthede (1993) vii. 42 Quynte clething, and joly polist corps, falsate, tresoune [etc.]..is agayne the order of knychthede, and all gude thewis. 1501 G. Douglas Palace of Honour i. xlvi In vestures quent of mony sindrie gyse. 1592 R. Greene Quip for Vpstart Courtier sig. C2^v Costly attire, curious and quaint apparell is the spur that prickes them forward. 1627 P. Fletcher Locustæ i. xiii All lovely drest In beauties livery, and quaint devise. 1648 Earl of Westmorland Otia Sacra 70 I'l no longer make Addresses to my Glass for this Curles sake, Or that quaint garb, whereby I may enchanted be with flattery. 1691 J. Dunton Voy. round World III. i. 27 I have not put on the quaint garb of the Age..nor afflicted my Brain by an elaborate Leg; but my Scrape is homely. †4. a. Gracious, courteous; courtly, refined. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > behaviour > good behaviour > courtesy > [adjective] metheOE hendc1225 debonairc1230 hendya1250 courteousc1275 hendlyc1275 bonairc1300 quaintc1300 sweetc1330 graciousa1375 meetha1400 debonary1402 debonariousc1485 humanec1500 civil1565 genty1660 discreet1739 polite1751 politeful1832 c1300 St. Edmund King (Harl.) l. 6 in F. J. Furnivall Early Eng. Poems & Lives Saints (1862) 87 (MED) Swiþe fair knyȝt he was..& swiþe curteys & quoynte. c1330 (?c1300) Guy of Warwick (Auch.) l. 346 To hir he spac..Wiþ a wel queynt steuen. a1375 (c1350) William of Palerne (1867) l. 4090 (MED) A ful loueli lady..comen was of gret kin & koynt hire-selue. c1400 (?c1390) Sir Gawain & Green Knight (1940) l. 1525 Ȝe þat ar so cortays & coynt of your hetes Oghe to a Ȝonke þynk..teche sum tokenez of trweluf craftes. c1426 J. Audelay Poems (1931) 192 (MED) Þise louele lade con grete her Chylde..Þis haylsyng was on coynt manere. c1580 ( tr. Bk. Alexander (1927) III. ii. 7323 He was courtas, sueit and quent, And wysly spekand at all poynt. [Fr. Dous estoit et courtois et trés bien emparlés.] 1595 H. Roberts Pheander sig. E2^v It might haue bene admired amongst the Courtiers, his quaint behauiour, had they bene beholders thereof. 1599 George a Greene sig. F3^v Though we Yorkeshire men be blunt of speech, And litle skild in court, or such quaint fashions, Yet nature teacheth vs duetie to our king. 1637 J. Fletcher & P. Massinger Elder Brother sig. B2 The happy Father of two hopefull Sonnes, of different breeding; Th'elder, a meere Scholar, the younger, a queint Courtier. 1681 T. Otway Souldiers Fortune i. i. 3 Very Court-like, civil, quaint, and new I think. b. Elegant; attractive; finely or fashionably dressed. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the mind > attention and judgement > fashionableness > [adjective] > dandyish quaintc1330 skipjack1598 satin1603 coxcombly1610 prigginga1627 coxcombical1649 skipjackly1674 jessamy1696 beauish1699 foppish1699 priggish1701 Jemmy Jessamine1786 macaronian1792 buckish1806 dandy1813 dandified1826 dandyish1826 Brummellian1829 dandyic1832 dandiacal1834 squirtish1843 macaronyish1858 fine-gentlemanish1865 foppy1878 dude1879 dudish1883 fancy1891 the mind > attention and judgement > beauty > [adjective] > specifically of persons faireOE sheenOE brightOE (the) sheenc1275 belc1314 pertc1330 quaintc1330 gaya1350 beau1399 formose14.. clearc1420 beautiful1509 venust1513 venereal1598 rare-beautied?1614 venerial1661 seraphic1765 nymphish1789 hyacinthine1847 bloomful1890 c1330 Seven Sages (Auch.) (1933) 2072 (MED) He..had a wif was queint and fair. a1350 in G. L. Brook Harley Lyrics (1968) 31 (MED) Coynte ase columbine, such hire cunde ys. a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) 28015 Yee leuedis..studis..hu to mak yow semle and quaint. c1400 (a1376) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Trin. Cambr. R.3.14) (1960) A. ii. 14 A womman wondirliche cloþide..Þere nis no quen queyntere [v.rr. quoyntre, queyntur, qwayntour, koynter]. ?c1450 tr. Bk. Knight of La Tour Landry (1906) 40 (MED) Folke shulde not haue thaire herte on the worlde, nor make hem queint to plese it. 1590 R. Greene Neuer too Late i. 50 He made himselfe as neate and quaint as might be. a1616 W. Shakespeare Merry Wives of Windsor (1623) iv. vi. 40 Quaint in greene, she shall be loose en-roab'd. View more context for this quotation a1616 W. Shakespeare Tempest (1623) i. ii. 319 Fine apparision: my queint Ariel, Hearke in thine eare. View more context for this quotation 1785 W. Cowper Task ii. 461 A body so fantastic, trim, And queint in its deportment and attire. †5. Of speech, language, etc.: carefully or ingeniously elaborated; highly elegant or refined; clever, smart; (in later use also) affected. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > the arts > literature > style of language or writing > ornateness > [adjective] > euphuistic or precious quaintc1395 fine1576 romantic1653 precious1712 précieuse1785 tortuous1801 euphuistical1823 euphuistic1828 précieux1891 c1395 G. Chaucer Canon's Yeoman's Tale 752 We semen wonder wise, Oure termes been so clergial and so queynte. a1400 (c1303) R. Mannyng Handlyng Synne (Harl.) 3041 Ȝyf þou be prout þat þou art wys..Or yn þyn queynte wurdys hast pryde..euyl shal betyde. a1475 Cato's Distichs (Rawl.) 381 in Englische Studien (1906) 36 33 (MED) I pray the fle Flateryng wordys, queynte and sle. 1513 G. Douglas in tr. Virgil Æneid i. Prol. 255 The quent and curious castis poeticall. ?1577 F. T. Debate Pride & Lowlines sig. Ciii^v Pleasaunt songes..To queynt and hard for me to vnderstand. 1655 E. Terry Voy. E.-India 232 The Persian there is spoken as their more quaint and Court-tongue. 1676 A. Marvell Mr. Smirke sig. K4 A good life is a Clergy man's best Syllogism, and the quaintest Oratory. 1712 R. Steele Spectator No. 450. ⁋1 A new Thought or Conceit dressed up in smooth quaint Language. 1783 E. Burke in 9th Rep. Commons Sel Comm. Bengal, Bahar, & Orissa 18 A Style,..full of quaint Terms and idiomatic phrases, which strongly bespeak English habits in the Way of Thinking. 1818 H. J. Todd Johnson's Dict. Eng. Lang. Neologism, a new and quaint expression. 1818 W. Hazlitt Lect. Eng. Poets vi. 228 The smart turns and quaint expression of an enigma or repartee in verse. 1847 R. W. Emerson Essays ii. 15 Beauty, convenience, grandeur of thought, and quaint expression are as near to us as to any. †6. Dainty, fastidious; prim. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the mind > attention and judgement > good taste > refinement > fastidiousness > [adjective] chisa700 estfula1000 esquaymous1303 squeamousc1325 overnicec1350 curiousc1380 dangerousc1386 delicatea1393 preciousc1395 nicec1400 skigc1400 over-delicatea1425 daintethc1430 ticklec1456 quaint1483 dauncha1500 pickinga1500 feat?1529 elegant?1533 queasy1545 fine1546 fine-fingered1549 fastidious?1555 fine-mouthed1559 chary1567 weamish1571 saucy1573 dainty1576 superfine1576 niced1577 overcurious1579 nicing1581 fineish1582 prick-me-dainty1583 daint1590 finical1592 tiptoe-nice1593 nice1594 nicking1598 choice1601 squeamish1608 marchpane1609 hypercritical1611 particular1616 finicking1661 overcritical1667 just so1696 penurious1703 fal-lal1747 ogertful1754 nackety1756 quiddling1789 pernickety1808 pershittie1808 taffety1814 hypercritic1820 faddy1824 finicky1825 meticulous1827 daintified1834 squeamy1838 picksome1855 choosey1862 picky1867 hyperaesthetic1879 persnickety1885 précieux1891 perskeet1897 tasty1905 Nice Nelly1922 perfectionist1942 snicketya1960 perfectionistic1968 1483 W. Caxton tr. J. de Voragine Golden Legende 128 b/1 She chastyssed them that were nyce and queynte. 1579 G. Harvey Let.-bk. (1884) 73 The rest in a manner ar..overstale for so queynte and queasye a worlde. 1590 E. Spenser Faerie Queene iii. vii. sig. Ii2 She nothing quaint Nor s'deignfull of so homely fashion. 1595 T. Edwards Narcissus in Cephalus & Procris (1882) 45 Comfort to them that liuing die in loue, Hate to the scornfull and nice dames so quaint. 1640 R. Brome Sparagus Garden iii. vii, in Wks. (1873) III. 167 Your new infusion of pure blood, by your queint feeding on delicate meates and drinks. 1678 R. L'Estrange in tr. Seneca's Morals: Of Benefits To Rdr. p. xv Fabius..Taxes him..for being too Queint and Finical in his Expressions. 1784 W. Hayley Mausoleum i. i. 358 Whene'er a young widow's so prim, And by quaint affectation so cramp'd in each limb, A new husband alone, by his pliant embrace, Can restore her starch'd form to its natural grace. 1787 H. J. Pye Poems I. 116 Oft the experienc'd shooter will deride This quaint exactness of fastidious pride. 1849 C. Brontë Shirley III. vi. 150 Caroline..would precisely suit the domestic habits of a certain fastidious kinsman of mine: so delicate, dexterous, quaint, quick, quiet; all done to a minute, all arranged to a strawbreadth. †II. Proud. 7. Proud; haughty; vain. Obsolete (archaic in later use). ΘΚΠ the mind > emotion > pride > [adjective] highOE rankOE proudOE quaint?c1225 stoutc1315 proud-heartedc1400 gobbedc1440 pridyc1485 high-minded?1503 superb1561 proud-heart1591 tiptoe1593 sublime1596 high-headed1599 magnificent1603 side1673 vaunty1724 perked-up1754 spicy1768 jelly1828 Latin1914 ?c1225 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 113 Þe flesch isher ed hame..& cointe [a1250 Nero cwointe] & kene as curre on his Mixne. 1340 Ayenbite (1866) 89 Þo þet makeþ ham zuo quaynte of þe ilke poure noblesse þet hi habbeþ of hare moder þe erþe. a1425 (?a1400) G. Chaucer Romaunt Rose (Hunterian) 3079 Ryght nygh the botoun pullede he A leef all grene, and yaff me that..I made [read I made me; Fr. me fis] of that leef full queynt [Fr. moult cointe]. c1450 tr. G. Deguileville Pilgrimage Lyfe Manhode (Cambr.) (1869) 115 (MED) I hatte orgoill, the queynte [Fr. la bobanciere], the feerce hornede beste. a1475 (?a1430) J. Lydgate tr. G. Deguileville Pilgrimage Life Man (Vitell.) 14190 My name ys ‘that wyl feynte Euere to be nyce and queynte’. 1610 G. Fletcher Christs Victorie 41 Queint Pride Hath taught her Sonnes to wound their mothers side. III. Curious, unusual. 8. Strange, unusual, unfamiliar (in character or appearance); curious, remarkable; mysterious. Now English regional (northern).In quot. c1325: supernatural, magic. 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- c1325 (c1300) Chron. Robert of Gloucester (Calig.) 1555 (MED) Hii ȝeue him an quointe [v.r. koynte] drench, mid childe vor to be. c1350 (a1333) William of Shoreham Poems (1902) 76 (MED) Ihesus..onne-schette þe queynte loken Þat spek of þe alde lawe. c1425 J. Lydgate Troyyes Bk. (Augustus A.iv) ii. l. 7693 (MED) In þat lond ful diuersly hem schewe Many liknes, queint and monstruous, Bestis vnkouþe, to siȝt meruelous. c1450 ( G. Chaucer Bk. Duchess 1330 Thys ys so queynt a sweven. a1500 (?a1425) Ipomedon (Harl.) (1889) 1637 Right vnsemely on queynte manere He hym dight. 1513 G. Douglas in tr. Virgil Æneid iii. Prol. 12 Now moist I write..Wyld auentouris, monstreis and qwent affrayis. c1540 (?a1400) Gest Historiale Destr. Troy 7715 There come..a coynt mon of shappe..ffro the Nauell netherward he was an able horse. 1579 E. Spenser Shepheardes Cal. Oct. 114 With queint Bellona in her equipage. 1645 J. Milton On Christ's Nativity: Hymn xxi, in Poems 10 A drear, and dying sound Affrights the Flamins at their service quaint. 1714 A. Pope Chaucer's Wife of Bath in R. Steele Poet. Misc. 17 How quaint an Appetite in Women reigns! Free Gifts we scorn, and love what costs us Pains. 1788 W. Beckford Spanish Jrnl. 21 Jan. (1954) 318 Our party consisted solely of Silva the Secretary and two sorrowful beings, the Duke of Sangro and the Russian Minister, one of the quaintest of God's creatures. 1808 W. Scott Marmion iii. xx. 153 Came forth, a quaint and fearful sight. a1903 H. E. Wroot in Eng. Dial. Dict. (1903) IV. 676/1 E. Yorkshire. It's waint weather. 9. a. Attractively or agreeably unusual in character or appearance; esp. pleasingly old-fashioned. Now the usual sense. ΘΚΠ the mind > attention and judgement > attractiveness > [adjective] > quaint quaint1762 1762 W. Whitehead Charge to Poets 17 Tir'd with th'ambiguous tale, or antique phrase..Some heedless pass: while some with transport view each quaint old word. 1796 R. Southey Joan of Arc viii. 234 He for the wintry hour Knew many a merry ballad and quaint tale. 1808 W. Scott Marmion ii. iii. 81 For this, with carving rare and quaint, She decked the chapel of the saint. 1824 W. Irving Tales of Traveller I. 91 The streaks of light and shadow thrown among the quaint articles of furniture. 1863 A. P. Stanley Lect. Jewish Church I. x. 236 Their device is full of the quaint humour which marks its antiquity. 1884 J. T. Bent in Macmillan's Mag. Oct. 434/2 The herdsmen were much quainter and more entertaining than our city-born muleteers. 1905 H. James Let. 18 Dec. in H. James & E. Wharton Lett. (1990) i. 57 Quaint tributes already beginning to cluster on my mantel shelf. 1941 E. Bowen Look at All Those Roses 121 Isabelle pointed to..the quaint old sign of the Spotted Cow, which made all children laugh—Hermione did not smile. 1994 Reminisce July 5/2 Some of those social courtesies seem a little quaint nowadays. 2004 P. J. Conradi Going Buddhist 176 The Bhutanese, by royal edict, wear quaint but workaday folk-costume. b. Of furniture: designed in the style of art nouveau. Now rare. ΘΚΠ society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > furniture and fittings > [adjective] > types of furniture generally standing1444 plush1615 Queen Elizabeth1673 occasional1749 Adametic1774 French-polished1836 upholstered1837 Adamish1838 Chippendale1855 Queen Anne1863 knock-down1875 Wellington chest1880 Adamesque1881 Sheraton1883 Hepplewhite1897 quaint1897 bombé1904 lowboy1915 Jacobean1918 overstuffed1922 spool1928 Williamsburg1931 thermed1952 stackable1958 Scandinavian1959 wall-to-wall1959 Populuxe1986 1897 Furnit. & Decoration 34 197/1 That new style called ‘Quaint’, which seems to be carcase without the spirit of the new style promulgated by the Arts and Crafts and other societies. 1952 J. Gloag Short Dict. Furnit. 377 A fashion in furniture design, corresponding with the New Art movement at the end of the 19th and the opening of the present century, was known as the quaint style. 1975 Country Life 2 Oct. 852/3 The spindly chairs and tables of the ‘quaint’ vogue. †B. adv. In a quaint manner; skilfully, cunningly. Obsolete (rare after 16th cent.). ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > ability > skill or skilfulness > cunning > [adverb] foxlyc1175 craftilyc1225 craftlyc1225 slylyc1275 fellyc1300 quaintc1300 quaintlyc1325 sleightlyc1330 subtly1340 sly1370 espyinglya1382 wisely1390 wililya1400 wilyc1400 subtilelyc1405 ginnouslya1425 semylyc1440 serpentlya1450 small?c1450 cautelously1477 politicly1477 sleightfullyc1480 artificiously1536 insidiously1545 sleightily1549 artificially1566 cunningly1603 versutely1616 artfully1631 subdolously1638 serpentinely1656 slimlya1680 pawkily1714 politically1764 trickfullyc1790 trickishly1824 leerily1859 dodgily1868 trickily1895 foxily1933 the world > action or operation > ability > skill or skilfulness > [adverb] > with skill or art > ingeniously craftilyeOE wiselya1000 guisily13.. quaintc1300 quaintlyc1300 subtly1340 cunningly?a1400 subtilelyc1405 subtilelyc1405 prettilyc1450 industriouslyc1487 ingeniously1548 clerkly1594 ambidextrously1657 c1300 St. Michael (Laud) 71 in C. Horstmann Early S.-Eng. Legendary (1887) 301 (MED) Þo founden huy ane churche þere, swyþe quoynte a-ferd. a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Fairf. 14) 5511 Ȝou be-houys to wirke ful quaynte and in þaire dedis ham attaynt. ?a1425 (?a1350) T. Castleford Chron. (1940) 20971 (MED) Arthur mar quaint he bar his sper. c1450 (c1380) G. Chaucer House of Fame 245 What shulde I speke more queynte, Or peyne me my wordes peynte To speke of love? 1554 D. Lindsay Dialog Experience & Courteour Prol. sig. Bii Fresche flora, spred furth hir tapestrie Wrocht be dame Nature quent and curiouslie. 1875 A. Cambridge Manor House & Other Poems 9 'Tis a sweet garden, is it not? So wild and tangled, nothing prim; No quaint-cut bed, no shaven plot, no stunted bushes, stiff and trim. C. n.² 1. A curious or clever ornament or device. Also: a cunning trick. Now rare. ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > deceit, deception, trickery > [noun] > a trick, deception wrenchc888 swikec893 braida1000 craftOE wile1154 crookc1175 trokingc1175 guile?c1225 hocket1276 blink1303 errorc1320 guileryc1330 sleightc1340 knackc1369 deceitc1380 japec1380 gaudc1386 syllogism1387 mazec1390 mowa1393 train?a1400 trantc1400 abusionc1405 creekc1405 trickc1412 trayc1430 lirtc1440 quaint?a1450 touch1481 pawka1522 false point?1528 practice1533 crink1534 flim-flamc1538 bobc1540 fetcha1547 abuse1551 block1553 wrinklec1555 far-fetch?a1562 blirre1570 slampant1577 ruse1581 forgery1582 crank1588 plait1589 crossbite1591 cozenage1592 lock1598 quiblin1605 foist1607 junt1608 firk1611 overreach?1615 fob1622 ludification1623 knick-knacka1625 flam1632 dodge1638 gimcrack1639 fourbe1654 juggle1664 strategy1672 jilt1683 disingenuity1691 fun1699 jugglementa1708 spring1753 shavie1767 rig?1775 deception1794 Yorkshire bite1795 fakement1811 fake1829 practical1833 deceptivity1843 tread-behind1844 fly1861 schlenter1864 Sinonism1864 racket1869 have1885 ficelle1890 wheeze1903 fast one1912 roughie1914 spun-yarn trick1916 fastie1931 phoney baloney1933 fake-out1955 okey-doke1964 mind-fuck1971 the world > action or operation > advantage > usefulness > use (made of things) > instrumentality > [noun] > (a) means > equipment for any action or undertaking > a device or contrivance compassinga1300 graithc1375 jetc1380 cautelc1440 quaint?a1450 invention1546 trick1548 frame1558 fashion1562 device1570 conveyance1596 address1598 molition1598 fabric1600 machine1648 fancy1665 art1667 fanglementa1670 convenience1671 conveniency1725 contraption1825 affair1835 rig1845 ?a1450 in C. von Nolcken Middle Eng. Transl. Rosarium Theol. (1979) 61 Anticrist..seiþ hym a lion in his couche..þat it is seide ‘in his couche’, it is quey [n] tez or deceyuyngz. c1450 (?a1400) Wars Alexander (Ashm.) l. 4917 (MED) A bedd..was gayly begane..With curtyns all of clene silke..With cumly knottis & with koyntis & knopis of perle. a1500 Piers of Fulham (James) in W. C. Hazlitt Remains Early Pop. Poetry Eng. (1866) II. 7 (MED) A queynt ys vsyd, a quayle pype..Makeynge a noyse in suche manere, Wenyng the quayle yt were hyr fere. 1939 F. D. Walker San Francisco's Lit. Frontier iv. 97 Handicapped by the popularity of Dan de Quille's elaborate ‘quaints’, including the latter's famous magnetic rocks and air-conditioned helmets, he was hard pressed to establish his own reputation. 2. With the. That which is quaint (in sense A. 9a). ΚΠ 1925 A. Huxley Along Road iii. 200 What I may call ‘arty-craftiness’ or ‘peasantry’ is a Tolstoyan derivation from the quaint. 1988 Jrnl. Design Hist. 1 137/1 Pure reversal emerges in design terms as the pseudo-babble of the cult of kitsch, the pursuit of the quaint. 1994 Jrnl. Canad. Stud. Spring 118 The..‘overrating’ of the quaint and marginal is most often found in the work of dilettantes, amateurs, and self-declared folklorists. 3. A strange or unusual person. rare. ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > order > disorder > irregularity > unconformity > abnormality > [noun] > oddness > odd person singularist1593 singularitan1615 queer fellow1712 oddity1731 unaccountable1748 character1773 rum1788 eccentric1832 card1835 card1853 hard case1892 queer shot1900 rummy1909 hard thing1918 hardshot1924 quaint1939 odd bod1942 oddball1943 joker in the pack1963 quirky1975 1939 J. Cary Mister Johnson 112 ‘He's a comic, isn't he?’ ‘A perfect quaint.’ 1959 B. W. Aldiss Canopy of Time 164 What's it matter what a broken-down quaint like Stayker said or didn't say? Phrases † to make it quaint: to behave or speak in an ingenious or elaborate manner esp. in order to mislead; to dissemble; to behave in a courteous or refined manner. Also (frequently with tough): to behave proudly or disdainfully (cf. to make it tough at tough adj. 8). Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the mind > attention and judgement > contempt > think or behave contemptuously [verb (intransitive)] skirpc1175 to make it quainta1393 flout1575 to wipe a person's nose1577 the mind > emotion > pride > haughtiness or disdainfulness > be haughty or disdainful [verb (intransitive)] to make it quainta1393 to have pepper in the nosea1400 lord1548 lord1563 to stand (also be, walk, etc.) upon (one's) pantofles1573 cavalier1594 to stand on (or upon) high terms1611 high-hat1922 a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) i. 283 (MED) Schrifte..mot be plein; It nedeth noght to make it queinte, For trowthe hise wordes wol noght peinte. a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) v. 4623 O traiteresse..Thou hast gret peine wel deserved, That thou canst maken it so queinte, Thi slyhe wordes forto peinte Towardes me. ?c1400 Erthe upon Erthe (St. John's Cambr.) st. 8, in Archiv f. das Studium der Neueren Sprachen (1919) 138 54 Ȝit schal þou..make þou it neuere so queynte and gay, Out of þis erþe in-to erþe. a1425 (?a1400) G. Chaucer Romaunt Rose (Hunterian) 2038 I..made it in my port full queynt. ?c1425 T. Hoccleve Jonathas (Durh.) l. 642 in Minor Poems (1970) i. 238 He thoghte nat to make it qweynte and tow. a1450 (c1412) T. Hoccleve De Regimine Principum (Harl. 4866) (1897) l. 3521 (MED) Make it noght so tow, ffor of thy birthe art þou noght wort a leek..Ne make it nat so qweynte. c1450 ( G. Chaucer Bk. Duchess 531 How goodly spak thys knyght..He made hyt nouther towgh ne queynte. c1450 tr. G. Deguileville Pilgrimage Lyfe Manhode (Cambr.) (1869) ii. cvi. 115 With alle myne joyntes stiryinge and with alle my sinewes j make it queynte [Fr. tous mes ners fas cointoier.] a1500 (a1460) Towneley Plays (1897–1973) 375 (MED) When she is thus paynt, she makys it so quaynte, She lookys like a saynt, And wars then the deyle. Compounds With adjectives and participles, as quaint-carved, †quaint-eyed, †quaint-felt, quaint-looking, quaint-mouthed, quaint-shaped, quaint-sounding, quaint-spoken, quaint-stomached, quaint-tempered, †quaint-witty, quaint-worded, etc., adjectives. Now rare. ΚΠ a1425 Medulla Gram. (Stonyhurst) f. 61 Sophionicus, queynt tempred. c1450 Cato's Distichs (Sidney Sussex) l. 364 in Englische Studien (1906) 36 32 (MED) Flatereng men, subtile and sle, And queinte-ispoken I prei þe fle. 1575 G. Harvey Let.-bk. (1884) 91 Thou arte so queyntefelt In thy rondelett. 1598 J. Marston Certaine Satyres in Metamorph. Pigmalions Image 34 Like no quaint stomack't man [he] Eates vp his armes. 1603 J. Florio tr. M. de Montaigne Ess. i. xxxvi. 115 A quaint-wittie, and loftie conceit. 1744 M. Akenside Pleasures Imagination iii. 250 Where'er the pow'r of ridicule displays Her quaint-ey'd visage. 1836 C. Dickens Sketches by Boz 2nd Ser. 178 An old quaint-looking apartment, with sunken windows, and black carved wainscotting. 1838 J. R. Lowell Class Poem ix. 11 What quaint-mouthed sentences! and how profound! 1853 G. P. R. James Agnes Sorel I. i. 7 The tall, quaint-shaped window. 1859 J. G. Whittier On Prayer Bk. in Independent (N.Y.) 15 Sept. 1/1 The quaint-carved, Gothic door. 1863 A. B. Grosart Small Sins (ed. 2) 17 Their quaint-worded dispositions and distinctions. 1912 ‘Saki’ Unbearable Bassington i. 12 That comfortable quaint-shaped room of angles and bays and alcoves. 1922 R. Leighton Compl. Bk. Dog xii. 178 Most people are well acquainted with the personal appearance of this quaint-looking dog. 1957 A. N. Prior Time & Modality 55 ‘The True’ and ‘The False’ are certainly quaint-sounding objects to be named by phrases like ‘The conquest of Gaul by Caesar’. 2006 S. Wales Evening Post (Nexis) 8 Sept. 2 The quaint-looking pub had a couple sitting out on the balcony, basking in the sun and enjoying a quiet pint. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2007; most recently modified version published online June 2022). quaintv.¹ Brit. /kweɪnt/, U.S. /kweɪnt/ Forms: Middle English coynt, Middle English–1500s quaynt, Middle English–1600s (1800s– English regional (Somerset)) quaint, late Middle English queynt, late Middle English queynte, 1800s– quaint (English regional (Sussex), past participle); also Scottish pre-1700 quant. Origin: A variant or alteration of another lexical item. Etymon: acquaint v. Etymology: Aphetic < acquaint v. Compare Old French cointier to get to know, frequent (13th cent. in an apparently isolated attestation). Compare quaintance n., quainted adj.² Now rare. transitive. To acquaint. Frequently reflexive. Also intransitive: to be acquainted with, to associate with.In later use chiefly in representations of regional and nonstandard speech. ΘΚΠ the mind > emotion > love > friendliness > become friendly or acquainted with [verb (reflexive)] acquaintc1325 quainta1375 fellowshipa1382 knowledgea1400 affectionate1603 the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > knowledge, what is known > familiarity > know, be conversant with [verb (transitive)] witc888 yknoweOE witOE canOE knowOE kenc1330 acquainta1393 quaint1509 understand1541 to summer and winter1602 possess1607 the mind > emotion > love > friendliness > be friendly [verb (intransitive)] > become mutually acquainted acquaintc1350 know1601 quaint1606 to fall in1808 to pick up1838 a1375 (c1350) William of Palerne (1867) 4644 (MED) He coynted him queyntli with þo tvo ladies. a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Gött.) 5707 Quen þai war quaintid..þis moyses and sir Raguell, He weddid of his dohutris an. ?a1400 (a1338) R. Mannyng Chron. (Petyt) ii. 225 (MED) Þan went þis Ottobone þorghout þe cuntre, & quaynted him with ilkone, lewed & ordine. c1450 (?a1400) Wars Alexander (Ashm.) 213 (MED) He kide him in þe courete & quayntid him with ladis. 1509 A. Barclay Brant's Shyp of Folys (Pynson) f. lxxxii^v Spede your pace To quaynt your selfe and company with grace. 1591 ‘A. Foulweather’ Wonderfull Astrol. Prognostication 1 To quaint my selfe with the art of Nauigation. 1606 W. Warner Continuance Albions Eng. xv. xciv. 378 God quaints not with Baal. 1888 F. T. Elworthy W. Somerset Word-bk. Quaint, to acquaint, inform. 1932 R. Macaulay They were Defeated i. iv. 33 ‘Mr. Cowley's a wonderful good poet.’ ‘So they say, and so he thinks. I don't quaint with him much.’ This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2007; most recently modified version published online March 2022). † quaintv.² Forms: late Middle English coynt, 1500s quaint. Origin: Formed within English, by conversion; partly modelled on a French lexical item. Etymon: quaint adj. Etymology: < quaint adj.; in sense 1 after Anglo-Norman cointer, cointier, quienter, cointoier and Middle French cointier, cointoier, cointir, cointer to adorn, to make fine or beautiful (frequently used reflexively) (13th cent. in Old French). Obsolete. 1. transitive (reflexive). To adorn oneself; to make oneself fine or beautiful. rare. ΘΚΠ the mind > attention and judgement > beautification > beautification of the person > beautify (the person) [verb (transitive)] highta1200 atiffe?c1225 tiff?c1225 wyndre?a1366 kembc1386 picka1393 prunec1395 tifta1400 varnishc1405 finea1425 tifflea1425 quaint1484 embuda1529 trick?1532 trick1545 dill1548 tricka1555 prink1573 smug1588 sponge1588 smudge1589 perk1590 primpc1590 sponge1592 tricksy1598 prime1616 sprug1622 briska1625 to sleek upa1625 trickify1678 prim1688 titivate1705 dandify1823 beflounce1824 befop1866 spry1878 lustrify1886 dude1899 doll1916 tart1938 youthify1945 pansy1946 spiv1947 dolly1958 zhuzh1970 1484 W. Caxton tr. G. de la Tour-Landry Bk. Knight of Tower (1971) cxix. 160 Thus loste..theldest doughter her maryage by cause she coynted her self. 1484 W. Caxton tr. G. de la Tour-Landry Bk. Knight of Tower (1971) cxx. 160 He thenne hadde..coynted hym self of a scarlatte gowne. 2. transitive with it. To act in a prim, affected, or pretentious manner. Cf. quaint adj. 6. ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > behaviour > affected behaviour or affectation > be affected or act affectedly [verb (intransitive)] > assume air of propriety (as if) butter wouldn't melt in his (also her, etc.) mouth1530 quaint1590 prim1688 1590 Tarltons Newes out of Purgatorie 2 Feare not me man, I am but Dick Tarlton that coulde quaint it in the Court, and clowne it on the stage. c1592 Faire Em sig. F1^v Let Maistres nice goe Saint it where she list, And coyly quaint it with dissembling face. 1598 J. Florio Worlde of Wordes Vezzeggiare..to flatter, to quaint it, to migniardize it. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2007; most recently modified version published online September 2021). < n.¹c1330adj.adv.n.²?c1225v.¹a1375v.²1484
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quaintn.1

quaintadj.adv.n.2

Phrases

Compounds

quaintv.1

† quaintv.2

quaintn.¹

quaintadj.adv.n.²

quaintv.¹

† quaintv.²