quail 
If we must borrow a name from any Old World birds 
for our species of Ortyx, i.ophortyx, C'allipepla, etc., the 
term "quail" is rather more appropriate than "partridge." 
Coues, Key to N. A. Birds, p. 596. 
3f. A prostitute. Also called plover. [Low.] 
Here 's Agamemnon an honest fellow enough, and one 
that loves quails. Shak., T. and C., v. 1. 57. 
Painted quail. See painted. 
quail-call (kwal'kal), 11. A quail-pipe. 
quail-dove (kwal'duv), u. An American pigeon 
of tlie genus Starnaenas. <V. cyanocephalus is the 
blue-headed quail-dove, found in the West In- 
dies and Florida. 
quail-mutton (kwal'mnt'n), n. Diseased mut- 
ton. Halliirell. [Prpv. Eng.] 
quail-pigeon (kwarpij"on), . A pigeon of the 
genus Geophaps. 
quail-pipe (kwal'pip), n. [<ME. quail-pipe; < 
quail'f + pipe 1 .] A call or pipe for alluring 
quail into a net. 
Highe shoos knopped with dagges, 
That frouucen lyke a quaile-pi.pe. 
Rom. of the Itose, 1. 7259. 
Thrush or nightingale, all is one to the fowler ; and, 
Master Varney, you can sound the quail-pipe most daintily 
to wile wantons into his nets. Scott, Kenilworth, vii. 
Quail-pipe bootst, boots resembling a quail-pipe. Salli- 
U'ell. 
A gallant that hides his small-timbered legs with a 
quail pipe boot. Middleton, Blurt, Master-Constable, ii. 1. 
quail-snipe (kwal'smp), n. 1. A South Ameri- 
can bird of the family Thinocoridee : game as 
lark-plover. 2. The dowitcher, or red-breasted 
snipe. /. P. Giraud, 1844. [Long Island.] 
quaily (kwa'li), .; pi. qualities (-liz). [Said to 
be imitative.] The upland plover, or Bartram's 
sandpiper, Tringa bartramia or Bartramia longi- 
eauda. See cut under Bartramia. [Manitoba.] 
quaint (kwant), a. [Early mod. E. also queint; 
dial. (Sc.)quent; < ME. quaint, quaynt, qwhainte, 
queint, queynt, quaint, coint, koint, < OF. coint, 
coynt, coinct, coente, cuinte, quaint, queint, quuint, 
quieynt, well-known, brave, wise, clever, quaint, 
= Pr. conte, cointe = It. conto, known, noted, 
also pretty, contr. of cognito, known, < L. cog- 
nitus, known: see cognizance, cognize, etc. The 
somewhat remarkable development of senses 
(which took place in OF.) is partly paralleled 
by that of couth, known, with its negative un- 
couth, and by that of AS. meere, known, famous, 
etc. (see mere*) ; but some confusion with L. 
comptus (> It. conto), neat, and with compiitatus 
(> It. conto, counted, numbered, etc.) is prob. 
also involved: see compfi. Cf. quaint, v., and 
acquaint, etc.] If. Known; familiar. 
The hert & the hinde there thanne hem hed sone, 
As the werwolf hem wissed that ay was here gye, 
Under a coynte crag fast bi the quenes chaumber. 
William of Palerne (E. E. T. S.), 1. 2850. 
2t. Artful ; clever ; cunning ; crafty ; wily. 
Ovid openly in Eydos tellus 
How Medea the maiden made hym all new, 
By crafte that she kouth of hir coint artys. 
Destruction of Troy (E. E. T. S.), 1. 125. 
" Dere brother," quath Peres, "the devell is ful queynte 
To encombren holy Churche. 
Piers Plowman's Crede (E. E. T. S.), 1. 482. 
But you, my lord, were glad to be employ'd, 
To show how quaint an orator you are. 
Shak., 2 Hen. VI., iii. 2. 274. 
3t. Artificial ; ingenious ; elaborate ; curious ; 
pretty; elegant; fine. 
And of Achilles with his queynte spere. 
Clunuxr, Squire s Tale, 1. 231. 
jit schal thou, erthe, for al thi erthe, make thou it 
neuere so queynte & gay. 
Hymns to Virgin, etc. (E. E. T. S.), p. 89. 
Our plumes, our spangs, and al our queint aray, 
Are pricking spurres. prouoking filthy pride. 
Gascoigne, Steele Glas (ed. Arber), p. 60. 
For he was clad in strange accoutrements, 
Fashion'd with queint devises, never seene 
In court before. Spenser, Mother Hub. Tale, 1. 673. 
For a fine, quaint, graceful, and excellent fashion, yours 
[your gown] is worth ten on 't. 
Shak., Much Ado, iii. 4. 22. 
To nurse the saplings tall, and curl the grove 
With ringlets quaint. Milton, Arcades, 1. 47. 
4. Fanciful ; odd ; whimsical : as, a quaint 
phrase ; a quaint talker. 
We semen wonder wyse, 
Our termes been so clergial and so queynte. 
Chaucer, Prol. to Canon's Yeoman's Tale, 1. 199. 
To move 
His laughter at then* quaint opinions wide 
Hereafter, when they come to model heaven 
And calculate the stars. Milton, P. L., viii. 78. 
Some stroke of quaint yet simple pleasantry. Macaulay. 
5. Odd and antique; old-fashioned; curious; 
odd in any way. 
4889 
But sodeinly she saugh a sighte queynte. 
Chaucer, Knight's Tale, 1. 1475. 
A casement high and triple-arched there was, 
. . . diamonded \vith panes of quaint device. 
Keats, Eve of St. Agnes, st. 24. 
There [in Europe] were to be seen the masterpiecefs] 
of art, the refinements of highly. cultivated society, the 
quaint peculiarities of ancient and local custom. 
Irving, Sketch-liook, p. 14. 
Rare fronts of varied mosaic, covered with imagery, 
wilder and quainter than ever filled a Midsummer Night's 
Dream. Rmkin. 
As quaint a four-in-hand 
As you shall see three pyebalds and a roan. 
Tennyson, Walking to the Mail. 
6f. Affectedly nice ; squeamish ; prim. 
She, nothing quaint, 
Nor sdeignfull of so homely fashion, 
Sith brought she was now to so hard constraint, 
Sat downe upon the dusty ground anon. 
Sperner, F. Q., III. vii. 10. 
=Syn. 5. Old, Antique, etc. See ancient^. 
quaintt (kwant), adv. [ME. quainte, queynte, 
etc.; < quaint, a.~\ Elegantly. 
What shulde I speke more queynte, 
Or peyne me my wordes peynte ? 
Chaucer, House of Fame, 1. 245. 
quaintt (kwant), v. t. [< ME. quainten, quein- 
ten, queynten, cointen; by apheresis from aquain- 
ten, etc. : see acquaint.'] To acquaint ; inform ; 
cause to know. 
He coynted him queyntli with tho tvo ladies, 
That hade that time thi sone to kepe in warde. 
William of Palerne (E. E. T. S.), 1. 4844. 
There if he travaile and quainte him well, 
The Treasure of Knowledges is his eche deale. 
Recorde, Castle of Knowledge (1556). (Halliwell.) 
I met a man and bad him stay, 
Requeisting him to mak me quaint 
Of the beginning and the event. 
Battle of Harlaw (Child's Ballads, VII. 182). 
quaintancet, [ME. quaintance, qweyntance, 
quoyntaunce ; by apheresis from acquaintance.'] 
Acquaintance. 
He kysses hir comlyly, & knygtly he melej ; 
Thay kallen hym of a quoyntaunce, & he hit quyk askeg, 
To be her seruaunt sothly, if hem-self lyked. 
Sir Gawayne and the Green Knight (E. E. T. S.), 1. 975. 
quaintiset, n. [< ME. quaintise, quayntise, 
qwaintis, qwantis, queyntise, < OF. cointise, coyn- 
tise, cointice, quointise, cuintize, coentisce, quen- 
tis, etc., cleverness, skilfulness, cunning, art- 
fulness, neatness, < coint, known, clever, 
quaint: see quaint."] 1. Cleverness; artful- 
ness; cunning; craft. 
The divill by his dotage dissaueth the chirche, 
And put in the prechours y-paynted withouten : 
And by his queyntise they comen in the curates to helpen. 
Piers Plowman's Crede (E. E. T. S.), 1. 507. 
Into the cuntre of Calaphe cast with a storme, 
There the qwene with hir qwaintis qwaitid me to cacche : 
Held me with hir, & my hede knightes. 
Destruction of Troy (E. E. T. S.), 1. 13246. 
Be waar to whom thou trustis, and spare for no qweyntise, 
For myche harrne hath f alle to them that ben not wise. 
Babees Book (E. E. T. S.X p. 42. 
2. Elegance; beauty; neatness; trimness; 
daintiness. 
They [wives] sholde setten hire entente to plesen hir 
housbondes, but nat by hire queyntise of array. 
Chaucer, Parson's Tale. 
quaintiset, v. t. [ME. queintisen ; < quaintise, 
11.] To make or adorn cunningly. 
The new guise of Berne was there ; 
With sondry thynges well deuised 
I see, wherof thei be queintised. 
Gower, Conf. Amant, viii. 
quaintly (kwant'li), adv. [< ME. quaintly, 
queintly, queyntly, cointly, coyntly; < quaint + 
-lyV.] In a quaint manner, (at) Artfully ; cun- 
ningly ; ingeniously ; cleverly. 
Bothe that on & that other, myn honoured ladye, 
That thus hor knyjt wyth hor kest han koyntly bigyled. 
Sir Gawayne and the Green Knight (E. E. T. S.), 1. 2413. 
A ladder quaintly made of cords, 
To cast up, with a pair of anchoring hooks. 
Shak., T. G. of V., iii. 1. 117. 
I queintiy stole a kiss. 
Gay, Shepherd's Week, Monday, 1. 79. 
(fit) Prettily ; nicely ; pleasantly ; with neatness or trim- 
ness. 
The lorde loutes therto, & the lady als, 
In -to a comly closet coyntly ho entre. 
Sir Gawayne and the Green Knight (E. E. T. S.), 1. 934. 
Yes, yes : the lines are very quaintly writ. 
Shak.,T. a. of V., ii. 1. 128. 
When was old Sherewood's hair more quaintly curl'd. 
Or nature's cradle more enchased and purl'd? 
B. Jonson. 
(c) Fancifully ; oddly ; whimsically ; curiously ; especially, 
in an odd, old-fashioned way : as, quaintly dressed ; quaint- 
ly expressed. 
Anon a figure enters, quaintly neat, 
All pride and business, bustle and conceit. 
Crabbe, Works, I. 14. 
quaker 
quaintness (kwant'nes), >i. [< ME. qnaintiirn, 
gwhayntnes; < quaint + -ness.] The quality of 
being quaint, (at) Artfulness; cunning; wiliness. (W) 
Elegance; daintiness; niceness; affectation. 
The fancy of some odde quaintiwsses haue put him cleane 
beside his Nature. 
Bp. Karle, Micro-cosmographie, An Affected Man. 
I ... have therein more solicitously followed the truth 
of things (many of which I can also assert on my own know- 
ledge) than I have studied quaintness in expressions. 
N. Morion, New England's Memorial, p. 11. 
There is a certain majesty in simplicity which is far 
above the quaintness of wit. Pope. 
(c) Fancifulness ; oddity; whimsicality; queerness; espe- 
cially, odd, old-fashioned appearance or manner. 
The great obstacle to Chapman's translations being read 
is their unconquerable quaintness. 
Lamb, Eng. Dramatists, Notes. 
Healthy seriousness often best expresses itself in play- 
ful quaintness. Froude, Sketches, p. 184. 
That peculiar air of quaintness which is shared by all 
places where narrow streets run up a steep hill. 
E. A. Freeman, Venice, p. 93. 
quairt, n. An obsolete form of quire 1 . 
quaisy (kwa'zi), a. An obsolete or dialectal 
form of queasy. 
quait (kwat), n. A variant of quoit. [U. S.] 
quake (kwak), v. ; pret. and pp. quaked, ppr. quak- 
ing. [< ME. quaken, cwaken (pret. quakede, also 
quoke, quok, quoc), < AS. cwacian (pret. cwacode) 
(whence causative cweccan, cause to shake, wag : 
see quitch^); perhaps akin to quick.] I. intrans. 
To shake ; tremble ; be agitated by tremors or 
shocks. Specifically (a) To tremble from cold, weak- 
ness, or fear ; shiver ; shudder. 
This Ypermestra caste hire eyen doun, 
And quok as doth the leefe of aspe grene. 
Chaucer, Good Women, 1. 2649. 
We were so ferde we can [began] downe falle, 
And qwoke for drede. 
York Plays, p. 416. 
And so terrible was the sight that Moses said, I exceed- 
ingly fear and quake. Heb. xii. 21. 
She, . . . while her infant race ... sit cow'ring o'er the 
sparks, 
Retires, content to quake, so they be warm'd. 
Cowper, Task, iv. 386. 
(6) To tremble from internal convulsions or shocks. 
The erthe qwoke, and mounteynes an bight, 
Valeis, & stoonys, bursten a-sundir. 
Hymns to Virgin, etc. (E. E. T. S.), p. 48. 
The mountains quake at him, and the hills melt, and the 
earth is burned at his presence. Yili. i. 5. 
(c) To tremble from want of solidity or firmness : as, quak- 
ing Jelly ; a quaking bog. 
Let custards quake, my rage must freely run ! 
Marston, Scourge of Villanie, ii. 4. 
Next Smedley dived ; slow circles dimpled o'er 
The quaking mud, that clos'd, and op'd no more. 
Pope, Dunciad, ii. 292. 
Quaking ash, asp, etc. See the nouns. =Syn. (a) Shud- 
der, etc. See shiver. (b) and (c) To vibrate, quiver. 
Il.t trans. To cause to shake or tremble ; 
throw into agitation or trembling; cause to 
shiver or shudder. 
I am not pleas'd at that ill-knotted fire, 
That bushing-staring star. Am I not Duke? 
It should not quake me now ; had it appear'd 
Before, it I might then haue justly fear'd. 
Tourneur, Revenger's Tragedy, v. 3. 
Where ladies shall be frighted, 
And, gladly quaked, hear more. Shak., Cor., i. 9. 6. 
quake (kwak), n. [< ME. quaJce; < quake, v.] 
1. A shake; a trembling; a tremulous agita- 
tion ; a shuddering. 
Yet as the earth may sometimes shake, 
For winds shut up will cause a quake. 
Suckling, Love's World. 
2t. Fear; dismay. 
Thou shal bye thi breed ful dere, 
Til thou turne ageyn in quake 
To that erthe thou were of-take. 
Cursor Mundi, MS. Coll. Trin. Cantab., f. 6. (Halliwell.) 
quake-breecht (kwak'brech), n. A coward. 
[Rare.] 
Excors, a hartlesse, a faint-hearted fellow, a quake- 
breech, without boldnes, spirit, wit ; a sot. Withals, Diet. 
quake-grass (kwak'gras), n. Same as quaking- 
grass. 
quakemiret (kwak'mir), n. [< quake + mire. 
Hence quagmire, and by abbr. quag. Cf. quave- 
mire, quickmire.] A quagmire. Stanihurst. 
quaker (kwa'ker), n. [< quake + -er^. Hence 
(in sense 2) F. Quaere, Quaker = Sp. Cudkero 
= Pg. Quaere = D. Kwaker = G. Quaker = Dan. 
Rvfeker = Sw. Quiikare.] 1. One who quakes 
or trembles. 2. [cap.] One of the religious 
denomination called the Society of Friends. The 
name, originally given in reproach, has never been adopted 
by the Society. See Society of Friends, under friend. 
Quakers that, like to lanterns, bear 
Their lights within 'em will not swear. 
S. Butter, Hudibras, II. ii. 219. 
