quatrefoil 
ornament resembles the four petals of a cruciform flower, 
but is certainly not derived from imitation of such a flow- 
er. Bands of small quatrefoils are much used as orna- 
Quatrefoils, from west portal of Amiens Cathedral, France ; 
13th century. 
ments in the English Perpendicular style, and sometimes 
in the Decorated. The same name is given also to flowers 
and leaves of similar form carved in relief as ornaments 
on moldings, etc. See also cut under gallery, 
3. In her., a four-leaved grass, or leaf divided 
into four leaflets, used as a bearing 
trefoil. See crossl. Double quatrefofl. S 
faH or octofaU. 
quatrible (kat'ri-bl), n. [< OF. quadruple, quad- 
rouble, quadruple, a piece of music for four 
voices or four instruments, < quadruple, four- 
fold: see quadruple.] In medieval music, a 
descant in parallel fourths to the cantus firmus. 
quatrible (kat'ri-bl), v. *.; pret. and pp. quat- 
ribltd, ppr. quatribling. [< quatrible, n.] In 
medieval music, to sing a descant at the interval 
of a fourth from the cautus firnius. See di- 
aphony, 2. Compare quinible. 
quatront, a. An obsolete variant of quatern. 
Halliwell. 
quatto, n. Same as eoaita. 
quattrmo (kwa-tre'no), n. [It. (ML. qtiatri- 
nus), < quattro, four: see four.] An Italian 
coin of about the value of a half a United 
States cent. 
The quattrino, a square coin which was struck during 
his [Loredano's] reign. 
C. C. Perkins, Italian Sculpture, p. 356, note. 
quattrocentist (kwat-ro-chen'tist), n. [= F. 
quattroccntiste, < It. quaitrocentista, quattrocen- 
tist, < quattrocento (see quattrocento) + -is*.] 
An Italian of the fifteenth century ; specifical- 
ly, an Italian artist of the style of art called 
quattrocento. 
It was a revelation to me, and I began to trace the pur- 
ity of work in the quattrocentiste to this drilling of unde- 
viating manipulation which fresco-painting had furnished 
to them. Contemporary Rev., XLIX. 476. 
quattrocento (kwat-ro-chen'to), . and a. [It., 
lit. 400 (< quattro, < ti.quattuor, four, + cento, 
< L. centum, hundred), but used as an abbre- 
viation of mille quattrocento, 1400, with ref. 
to the century (1401-1500) in question. Of. 
cinque-cento.] I. . The fifteenth century con- 
sidered as an epoch of art or literature, and 
especially in connection with Italy: as, the 
sculpture of the quattrocento. The painters of the 
early part of the period had not yet attained the power to 
render their conceptions with entire freedom ; but their 
coloring is very beautiful, and their sentiment in general 
nobler than that of the artists who followed them. 
II. . Belonging to, or living or produced 
in, the fifteenth century; of the style of the 
fifteenth century: as, quattrocento sculpture. 
quatuor(kwat'u-6r),w. [<.Tj.quatuor,prop.quat- 
tuor, = E. four: see four.] In music, a quartet. 
quaught (kwacht), v. t. and i. [Early mod. E. 
also quaght; Sa.waught,waucht; origin uncer- 
tain. Cf. quaff.] To drink; quaff. 
I quaught, I drinke all out 
Wyll you quaght with me? Palsgrave. 
quavet (kwav), v. i. [Early mod. E. also queave; 
< ME. quaven, earlier cwavien; akin to quab 1 , 
quap 1 . Hence freq. quaver, q. v.] To quiver; 
shake. 
The daye for drede with-drowe, and derke bicam the sonne, 
The wal [veilj wagged and clef [was rent], and al the worlde 
quaued. Piers Plowman (B), xviii. 61. 
While thy mighte 
Can keepe my harte queavinge or quicke. 
Puttenham, Partheniades, vi. 
quavet (kwav), n. [< ME. quave; < quave, v.] A 
shaking: trembling. Prompt. Parv., p. 419. 
quavemiret (kwav'mir), n. [Also contr. qua- 
mire; < quace + mire. Cf. quagmire, quake- 
mire.] Same as quagmire. Palsgrave. 
4902 
A muddie quavemire. Mir. for Mags., p. 653. 
Howbeit, Aratus would not suffer the Achaians to follow 
them, because of bogs and quavenrires, but sounded the re- 
treat. North, tr. of Plutarch, p. 670. 
quaver (kwa'ver), v. [< ME. quai-eren, freq. of 
(/iture; cf. LG. quabbeln = G. quabbeln, quappeln, 
quiver, tremble, freq. of the form represented 
by E. gaftl. Cf. quireri.] I. intrans. 1. To 
have a tremulous motion ; tremble ; vibrate. 
It semythe that the worlde is alle qicaveryng ; it will re- 
boyle somwher, so that I deme yonge men shall be cher- 
ysshed. Paston Letters, III. 174. 
At the end of this Hole is a Membrane, . . . stretched 
like the Head of a Drum, ... to receive the Impulse of 
the Sound, and to vibrate or quaver according to its re- 
ciprocal Motions. Kay, Works of Creation, p. 263. 
If the finger be moved with a quavering motion, they [the 
colors] appear again. Newton, Opticks. 
Her hand trembled, her voice quavered with that emo- 
tion which is not strength. Stedman, Viet Poets, p. 143. 
2. To sing or sound with the wavy tones of an 
untrained voice, or with a distinctly tremulous 
tone; hence, to sing, in general; also, to per- 
form a shake or similar melodic embellishment 
with the voice or an instrument. 
You'd swear that Randal, in his rustic strains, 
Again was quavering to the country swains. 
Dryden and Soames, tr. of Boileau's Art of Poetry, ii. 
Now sportive youth 
Carol incondite rhythms with suiting notes, 
And quaver unharmonious. J. Ph&ipt, Cider, ii. 
II. trans. To sing in an artless manner or 
with tremulous tone. 
And for Musick an old hoarse singing man riding ten 
miles from his Cathedral to Quaver out the Glories of our 
Birth and State. ShadweU, The Scowrere. 
We will quaver out Peccavimus together. 
Thackeray, Philip, xxvii. 
quaver (kwa'ver), . [< quaver, r.] 1. A 
quivering; a trembling. 
The worth of such actions is not a thing to be decided in 
a quaver of sensibility or a flush of righteous common 
sense. Si. L. Stevenson, The English Admirals. 
2. A tremulous or quivering sound or tone. 
And the choristers' song, that late was so strong, 
Grew a quaver of consternation. 
Southey, Old Woman of Berkeley. 
3. A shake or similar embellishment, particu- 
larly in vocal music. 
I hearde a certaine French man who sung very melodi- 
ously with curious quarters. 
Coryat, Crudities, I. 36, sig. D. 
It has at least received great improvements among us, 
whether we consider the instrument itself, or those sev- 
eral quavers and graces which are thrown into the playing 
of it. Addison, The Cat-Call. 
4. An eighth-note (which see). Quaver-rest, in 
musical notation, same as eighth-rest. 
quayerer (kwa'ver-er), n. One who or that 
which quavers ; a warbler. 
quaveringly (kwa'ver-ing-li), adv. In a quaver- 
ing or tremulous manner. 
quavery (kwa'ver-i), a. [< quaver + -y 1 .] 
Shaky; unstable. 
A quavery or a maris and unstable foundacion must be 
holpe with great pylys of alder rammed downe, and with 
a frame of tymbre called a crossaundre. 
Horman, quoted in Prompt. Parv., p. 419. 
quavingt (kwa'ving),re. [< ME. quavyng; verbal 
n. of quave, v.] A shaking or trembling, as of 
the earth. Sir T. Elyot, Castle of Health, i. 2. 
quavivert, n. [Origin uncertain. Cf. viver.] 
A fish, the sea-dragon or dragonet ; a kind of 
gurnard. See gurnard and Trigla. 
Tumle, the great sea-dragon, or quaviver; also the gur- 
nard, called so at Koan. Cotgrave. 
Vive, the quaviver, or sea-dragon. Cotgrave. 
Traigne, the sea-dragon, viver, quaviver. Cotgrave. 
quawk (kwak), v. i. [Imitative; cf. squawk.] 
To croak; caw. [Prov. Eng.] 
quawk (kwak), n. [Imitative; cf. quawk, v.] 
The qua-bird or night-heron, Nyctiardea arisea 
nsevia. Also quark, squawk. [Local, U. S.] 
quay 1 , n. An obsolete or dialectal form of 
whet/. 
quay 2 (ke), . [A more recent spelling, after 
the F. quay, now quai, of the earlier E. kay, 
key (the mod. pron. ke prop, belongs to key 
only): see key^, kay%.] A landing-place; a 
place where vessels are loaded and unloaded ; 
a wharf: usually constructed of stone, but 
sometimes of wood, iron, etc., along a line of 
coast or a river-bank or round a harbor or dock. 
Make quays, build bridges, or repair Whitehall. 
Pope, Imit. of Horace, II. ii. 120. 
To ascertain the limits of all ports, and to assign proper 
wharfs and quays in each port for the exclusive landing 
and loading of merchandise. Blackstone, Com., I. vIL 
quay' 2 (ke), r. t. [< quay 2 , n.] To furnish with 
a quay or quays. 
queasiness 
quayage (ke'aj), n. [Formerly keyage ; < F. 
quayage, < quay, a key, quay : see quay?.] Duty 
paid for repairing a quay, or for the use of a 
quay; quay-dues; wharfage. 
quay-berti (ke 'berth), n. A berth for a sliiji 
next to a quay. 
quayedt, a. A manufactured form of quailed, 
past participle of quail 1 . Spenser. 
que 1 , n. Same as cue 2 . 
que' 2 , . A dialectal form of cow 1 . Halliwell. 
queach 1 ! (kweeh), v. i. A variant of quitch 1 . 
queach' 2 (kwech), . [Also quitch ; < ME. queche, 
a thicket.] 1. A thick bushy plot; a thorny 
thicket. 
The! rode so longe till thei com in to a thikke queche in 
a depe valey. Merlin (E. E. T. S.), ill. 640. 
2. A plat of ground left unplowed on account 
of queaches or thickets. Halliu-cll. [Prov. Eng.] 
queachy 1 (kwe'chi), a. [Also queechy; < queach 1 
+ -y 1 .] Shaking; moving, yielding, or trem- 
bling under the feet, as wet or swampy ground. 
Twixt Penwith's furthest point and Goodwin's yueachy 
sand. Drayton, Polyolbion, ii. 396. 
I'n got no daughter o' my own ne'er had one an' I 
warna sorry, for they're poor queechy things, gells is. 
George Eliot, Adam Bede, x. (Dories.) 
queachy' 2 t (kwe'chi), a. [Early mod. E. also 
qiiecliy; < queach 2 + -y 1 .] Bushy; thick. 
The owle, that hates the day and lones to flee by night, 
Hath queachie bushes to defende him from Apollo's sight. 
TurberviUe, That All Things Have Release. 
Our bloud is changed to Inke, our haires to Quils, 
Our eyes halfe buried in our quechy plots. 
Heywood, Golden Age, v. 1. 
queal 1 (kwel), v. i. [An earlier and more origi- 
nal form of quail 1 .] To faint away, ffalliwell. 
[Prov. Eng.] 
queal' 2 , . An obsolete or dialectal form of 
mheal. 
quean (kwen), n. [(a) Also dial. (Sc.) quine; 
early mod. E. queane, quene; < ME. quene, 
quen, cwene, < AS. cwene, cwyne (gen. cwettan), 
prop. cwSne, orig. "cwme, a woman (L. femina, 
mulier), wife (L. uxor) (cf. 'cwenfugol, a hen- 
bird a doubtful word in Somner),= OS. quena, 
wife, queen (L. regina), harlot (L. meretrix), = 
OD. quene, wife, MD. quene, a vain or worthless 
woman, a barren woman, also a barren cow, D. 
kween, a barren woman, a barren cow, = MLG. 
quene, an old woman, LG. quene, a barren cow, 
a heifer, = OHG. quena (quena), clncena, cheiia, 
MHG. chone, kone, kon, Q. (obs.) kone, a woman, 
G. dial, kan, chan, a woman, wife, = Icel. krenna 
= Sw. qvinna = Dan. krinde, a woman (cf. 
contr. Icel. kona, woman, = Sw. kona, a harlot, 
= Dan. kone, a woman, esp. a married woman, 
wife), = Goth, qino, a woman, wife (Gr. }w#); 
the above forms being distinct from, though 
partly confused with (6) E. queen (L. regina), < 
ME. queen, quen, quene, kuen, cwene, cwen, < AS. 
cwen, rarely cwten (gen. cwene), a woman (L. femi- 
na), wife (L. uxor), queen (L. regina, impera- 
trix, augusta), = OS. qudn, wife, = OHG. quena, 
chuuena = Icel. kvdn, kvsen, wife, = Goth.ktcens, 
rarely kweins, wife (not recorded in sense of 
'queen'); both forms ult. akin to Ir. Gael. 
coinne, a woman; Gr. ywij, a woman, female 
(seegynssceum,gynarcny,etc.,gynecocraci/,eto.)', 
Skt. jdni, a wife, appar. < y[ jan = Gr. / } T v L. 
V/ gen = Teut. y ken, bring forth : see ken 2 . 
kin 1 , genus, generate, etc.] A woman ; a female 
person, considered without regard to qualities 
or position : hence generally in a slighting use. 
It may be merely neutral or familiar, like wench (as, a 
sturdy quean, a thriving quean\ or be used in various de- 
grees of depreciation (= jade, slut, harlot, strumpet). (Eng. 
and Scotch.] 
Hastow with som quene al nyght yswonke? 
Chaucer, ProL to Manciple's Tale, 1. 18. 
At churche in the enamel cheorles aren yuel to knowe, 
Other a knyght fro a knaue other a queyne fro a queene. 
Piers Plomnan (C), ix. 46. 
Flavin, because her meanes are somewhat scant, 
Doth sell her body to relieve her want, 
Yet scornes to be reputed as a nuenn. 
Times' Whistle (E. E. T. S.), p. 45. 
I never was ambitious 
Of using congees to my daughter-queen 
A queen ! perhaps a quean .' 
Ford, Perkin Warbeck, ii. 3. 
I see her yet, the sonsie quean 
That lighted up my jingle. 
Burns, To the Guidwife of Wauchope House. 
My young master will . . . call you slut and quean, if 
there be but a speck of soot upon his bandbox. 
Scott, Abbot, Iv. 
queasily (kwe'zi-li), adv. In a queasy manner; 
with squeamishness. 
queasiness (kwe'zi-nes), n. The state of being 
queasy ; nausea ; qualmishness ; inclination to 
vomit; disgust. 
