Quicunque 
Quicunque (kwi-kung'kwe), . [So called from 
the opening words of the Latin version, Qui- 
/iiiii/iii' nil I, whosoever will: L. quicunque, qui- 
et/tuque, whoever, whosoever, < qui, who, + -CHIII- 
que, a generalizing suffix.] The Athanasian 
creed. Also called fiymbolitm Quicunque and 
the I'xulnt QnicitiK/ii/' full. 
Hilary, . . . Vincentius, . . . and Vigilius, . . . to whom 
severally the authorship of the Quicunque has been as- 
cribed. Encyc. Brit., VI. 562. 
quid 1 (kvvid), H. [Also queed; var. of cud, q. v.] 
1 . A cud. [Prov. Eng.] 2. A portion suitable 
to be chewed; specifically, a piece of tobacco 
chewed and rolled about in the mouth. 
The beggar who chews his quid as he sweeps his cross- 
ing. Disraeli. 
quid 1 (kwid), v. t. and t.; pret. and pp. quidded, 
ppr.quidding. [<gi(A, .] To drop partly mas- 
ticated food from the mouth : said of horses. 
quid a (kwid), re. [< L. quid, interrog. what, in- 
def . somewhat, something, neut. (= E. what) of 
quis, who, = E. who: see who.] 1. What; na- 
ture; substance. 
You must know my age 
Hath aeene the beings and the quid of things ; 
I know the dimensions and the termini 
Of all existence. Marstan, The Fawne, i. 2. 
2. Something : used chiefly in the phrase ter- 
tium quid (see below). See predication. Ter- 
tium quid, something different from both mind and mat- 
ter, a representative object in perception, itself immedi- 
ately known, mediating between the mind and the reality. 
The Quids, in U. S. hist, from 1805 to 1811, a section of 
the Democratic-Republican party which was attached to 
extreme State-rights and democratic views, and separated 
itself from the administration, under the leadership of 
John Randolph, favoring Monroe as successor to Jeffer- 
son : supposed to have been so named as being tertium 
quid to the Federalists and administration Republicans. 
Also called Quiddists. 
In his next speech he avowed himself to be no longer a 
republican ; he belonged to the third party, the quiddists 
or quids, being that tertium quid, that third something, 
which had no name, but was really an anti-Madison move- 
ment. //. Adams, John Randolph, II. 181. 
quid 3 (kwid), . [Origin obscure.] A sovereign 
(1). [Slang, Eng.] 
quidam (kwi'dam), re. [L., some, a certain, < 
(//, who, + -dam, var. -dem, an indef. suffix.] 
Somebody ; one unknown. [Rare.] 
So many unworthy Quidams, which catch at the garlond 
which to you alone is dewe. Spenser, Shep. Cal., Ded. 
quiddany (kwid'a-ni), . [< L. cydonium, cy- 
doneum, quince-juice, quince-wine, < cydonia 
(cydonium malum), a quince : see Cydonia. Cf. 
quinel, quince 1 .] A confection of quinces pre- 
pared with sugar. 
quiddative (kwid'a-tiv), a. [Contr. of quiddi- 
tative.] Same as quidditative. 
Quiddist (kwid'ist), n. [< quid? + -ist.] See 
the Quids, under quid 2 . 
quiddit (kwid'it), n. [A contr. of quiddity.] A 
subtlety ; an equivocation ; a quibble. 
No quirk left, no quiddit, 
That may defeat him? 
Fletcher, Spanish Curate, i. 8. 
By some strange quiddit, or some wrested clause, 
To find him guiltie of the breach of laws. 
Drayton, The Owl. 
quidditative (kwid'i-ta-tiv), a. [< F. quiddi- 
tmtif, < ML. quidditativils, < quiddita(t-)s, ' what- 
ness': see quiddity.] Constituting the essence 
of a thing Quidditative being, entity. See the 
nouns. Quidditative predication, the predication of 
the genus or species. 
quiddity (kwid'i-ti), .; pi. quiddities (-tiz). [= 
F. quiddite, < ML. quiddita(t-)s, ' whatness,' < L. 
quid, what(=E. what): seequidV.] 1. In scho- 
lastic philos. , that which distinguishes a thing 
from other things, and makes it what it is, and 
not another; substantial form; nature. 
I darevndertake Orlando Furioso,or honest King Arthur, 
will neuer displease a Souldier: but the quiddity of Ens, 
and Prima materia, will hardely agree with a Corslet. 
Sir P. Sidney, Apol. for Poetrie. 
Neither shal I stand to trifle with one that will tell me 
of quiddities and formalities. 
Milton, Church-Government, ii. 1. 
The Quiddity and Essence of the incomprehensible 
Creator cannot imprint any formal Conception upon the 
Unite Intellect of the Creature. Hawett, Letters, ii. 11. 
Reason is a common name, and agrees both to the un- 
derstanding and essence of things as explained in defini- 
tion. Quiddity they commonly call it. The intellect they 
call reason reasoning, quiddity reason reasoned. 
Burt/ersdicius, tr. by a Gentleman, L. xxi. 4. 
2. A trifling nicety ; a cavil ; a quirk or quibble. 
But she, in quirks and quiddities of love, 
Sets me to school, she is so overwise. 
Greene, George-a-Greene. 
F.vasion was his armature, quiddity his defence. 
J. T. Fields, Underbrush, p. 80. 
4911 
quiddle 1 (kwid'l), v. i.; pret. and pp. quiddlrd, 
ppr. quiddliiif/. [A dim. or freq. form, appiir. 
based on L. quid, what, as in quiddit, quiddity, 
etc. : see quid' 2 , quiddity.] 1 . To spend or waste 
time in trifling employments, or to attend to 
useful subjects in a trifling or superficial man- 
ner; be of a trifling, time-wasting character. 
You are not sitting as nisi prills lawyers, bound by 
qitiddling technicalities. 
W. Phillips, Speeches, etc., p. 181. 
2. To criticize. Dames. 
Set up your buffing base, and we will quiddell upon it. 
It. Edwards, Damon and Pythias, (panes.) 
quiddle 1 (kwid'l), 11. [< quiddle 1 , v.] One who 
quiddles, or busies himself about trifles. Also 
quiddler. 
The Englishman is very petulant and precise about his 
accommodation at inns and on the road, a quiddle about 
his toast and his chop and every species of convenience. 
Emerson, English Traits, vi. 
quiddle 2 (kwid'l), v. i. ; pret. and pp. quiddled, 
ppr. quiddling. [Origin obscure.] To quiver; 
shiver; tremble; creep, as live flesh: as, the fish 
were still quiddling. [New Eng.] 
quiddler (kwid'ler), n. [< quiddle 1 + -er 1 .] 
Same as quiddle 1 . 
quidificalt, a. [< L. quid, what, + -fie + -al. 
Cf. quiddity.] Equivocal; subtle. 
Diogenes, mocking soch quidiftcall trifles, that were al in 
the cherubins, said, Sir Plato, your table and your cuppe 
I see very well, but as for your tabletee and your cupitee, 
I see none sot-he. 
Udall, tr. of Apophthegms of Erasmus, p. 139. 
quidlibet, n. Same as quodlibet. 
quidnunc (kwid'nungk), n. [< L. quid nunc, 
what now: quid, what (see quid%); nunc, now 
(see now).] One who is curious to know every- 
thing that passes, and is continually asking 
"What now?" or "What news?" hence, one 
who knows or pretends to know all that is go- 
ing on in politics, society, etc. ; a newsmonger. 
Are not you called a theatrical quidnunc, and a mock 
Maecenas to second-hand authors? 
Sheridan, The Critic, i. 1. 
What a treasure-trove to these venerable quidnuncs, 
could they have guessed the secret which Hepzibah and 
Clifford were carrying along with them ! 
Hawthorne, Seven Gables, xvii. 
quid pro quo (kwid pro kwo). [L., something for 
something: quid, interrog. what, indef. some- 
thing; pro, for; quo, abl. sing, of quid, some- 
thing.] Something given for something else ; 
a tit for tat; in law, an equivalent; a thing 
given or offered in exchange for or in consid- 
eration of another; the mutual consideration 
and performance of either party as toward the 
other in a contract. 
quien, n. [F. chien, dial, quien, < L. can is, a dog : 
see hound.] A dog. [Thieves' cant.] 
" Curse the quiens," said he. And not a word all dinner- 
time but "Curse the quiens!" I said I must know who 
they were before I would curse them. " Quiens? why, 
that was dogs. And I knew not even that much?" 
C. Beade, Cloister and Hearth, Iv. 
quien sabe (kien sa'be). [Sp.: quien, who, < 
L. quern, ace. of quis, who ; sabe, 3d pers. sing, 
pres. ind. of saber, know,< L. sapere, have taste 
or sense: see sapient.] Who knows? a form of 
response equivalent to ' how should I know ? ' or 
'I do not know,' occasionally used by Ameri- 
cans on the Pacific coast. 
quiert, n. An obsolete variant of quire 1 . 
quiesce (kwi-es'), v. i. ; pret. and pp. quiesced, 
ppr. quiescing. [< L. quieseere, rest, keep quiet, 
< quies, rest, quiet : see quiet, n. Cf. acquiesce.] 
1. To become quiet or calm; become silent. 
The village, after a season of acute conjecture, quiesced 
into that sarcastic sufferance of the anomaly into which 
it may have been noticed that small communities are apt 
to subside from such occasions. 
Howells, Annie Kilburn, xxx. 
2. Inphilol., to become silent, as a letter; come 
to have no sound. Amer. Jour. PhiloL.VlII. 
282. 
quiescence (kwl-es'ens), n. [< LL. quiescentia, 
rest, quiet, < L. quiescen(t-)s, ppr. of quieseere, 
repose, keep quiet: see quiescent.] 1. The 
state or quality of being quiescent or inactive ; 
rest ; repose ; inactivity ; the state of a thing 
without motion or agitation : as, the quiescence 
of a volcano. 
'Tis not unlikely that he [Adam] had as clear a percep- 
tion of the earth's motion as we think we have of its qui- 
escence. Olanville, Vanity of Dogmatizing, i. 
It is not enough that we are stimulated to pleasure or 
to pain, we must lapse into muscular quiescence to realize 
either. A. Bain, Emotions and Will, p. 149. 
2. In phiM., silence ; the condition of not be- 
ing heard in pronunciation: as, the quiescence 
quiet 
of a letter. 3. In biol., quietude or inactivity; 
a state of animal life approaching torpidity, 
but in which the animal is capable of some mo- 
tion, andmayreceivefood: itis observed among 
insects during either hibernation or pupation, 
and in many other animals both higher and 
lower in the scale than these. 
quiescency (kwi-es'en-si), . [As ^quiescence 
(see -?y).] Same as quiescence. 
quiescent (kwl-es'ent), a. and n. [< L. quies- 
cen(t-)s, ppr. of quieseere, keep quiet, rest: see 
quiesce.] I. a. 1. Besting; being in a state 
of repose; still; not moving: as, a quiescent 
body or fluid. 
Aristotle endeavoureth to prove that in all motion 
there is some point quiescent. 
Bacon, Advancement of Learning, ii. 222. 
Quiescent as he now sat, there was something about his 
nostril, his mouth, his brow, which, to my perceptions, 
indicated elements within either restless, or hard, or eager. 
Charlotte Bronte, Jane Eyre, xxix. 
Tiie overpowering heat inclines me to be perfectly qui- 
escent in the daytime. 
George Eliat, Hill on the Floss, vii. 3. 
2. In philol., silent; not sounded; having no 
sound: as, a quiescent letter. 3. In biol. , phys- 
iologically inactive or motionless; resting, as 
an insect in the chrysalis state, or an encysted 
amoeba. 
II. n. In philol., a silent letter. 
quiescently (kwl-es'ent-li), adv. In a quiescent 
manner; calmly; quietly. 
quiet (kwi'et), a. [< ME. quiet, quyet = OF. 
quiet, quiete, quite, vernacularly quoi, coi (> E. 
coy), F. coi = Pr. quetz = Sp. Pg. quieto, ver- 
nacularly chedo = It. quieto, vernacularly queto, 
< L. quietus, pp. of quieseere, keep quiet, rest ; 
cf. quies (quiet-), quiet, rest: see quiesce, quiet, 
n. Cf. coyt, a doublet of quiet, and quit 1 , quite 1 , 
acquit, requite, etc.] 1 . Being in a state of rest ; 
not being in action or motion ; not moving or 
agitated; still: as, remain quiet; the sea was 
quiet. 
And they . . . laid wait for him all night in the gate 
of the city, and were quiet all the night, saying, In the 
morning, when it is day, we shall kill him. Judges xvi. 2. 
The holy time is quiet as a Nun 
Breathless with adoration. 
Wordsworth, Misc. Sonnets, i. 30. 
2. Left at rest; free from alarm or disturb- 
ance; unmolested; tranquil. 
In his days the land was quiet ten years. 2 Chron. xiv. 1. 
A peace above all earthly dignities, 
A still and quiet conscience. 
Shalt., Hen. VIII., iii. 2. 380. 
3. Peaceable ; not turbulent ; not giving of- 
fense; not exciting controversy, disorder, or 
trouble. 
As long as the Cairiotes are poor and weaken'd by for- 
mer divisions they are quiet, but when they grow rich 
and great they envy one another, and so fall into divi- 
sions. Pococke, Description of the East, I. 169. 
Be plain in dress, and sober in your diet ; 
In short, my deary, kiss me ! and be quiet. 
Lady M. W. Montagu, Summary of Lord Lyttelton's Advice 
[to a Lady. 
4. Undisturbed by emotion; calm; patient; 
contented. 
The ornament of a meek and quiet spirit. 1 Pet. iii. 4. 
Grant . . . to thy faithful people pardon and peace, that 
they may be cleansed from all their sins, and serve thee 
with a quiet mind. Book of Common Prayer, Collect for 
[21st Sunday after Trinity. 
Margaret Duchess of Burgundy, a Woman that could 
never be quiet in her Mind as long as King Henry was quiet 
in his Kingdom. Baker, Chronicles, p. 241. 
5. Free from noise or sound ; silent; still: as, 
a quiet neighborhood. 
Much of mirthe watj that ho made, 
Among her feres that wats so quyt ! 
Alliterative Poems (ed. Morris), i. 1149. 
Her days 
Henceforth were given to quiet tasks of good. 
Bryant, Sella. 
Till he find 
The quiet chamber far apart. 
Tennyson, Day-Dream, The Arrival. 
All was quiet, but for faint sounds made 
By the wood creatures wild and unafraid. 
WUliam Morris, Earthly Paradise, II. 221. 
6. Free from fuss or bustle ; without stiffness 
or formality. 
A couple of Mrs. Bardell'3 most particular acquaintance, 
who had Just stepped iu to have a quiet cup of tea. 
Dickens, Pickwick, xxvi. 
7. Not glaring or showy ; not such as to attract 
notice; in good taste: as, quiet colors; a quiet 
dress. 
A large frame, . . . which I afterwards found to contain 
a rather highly colored seventeenth-century master, was 
covered with a quiet drapery. The Century, XXXVIII. 91. 
