4918 
II. traiig. 1. To twist or turn; form into 
quirks. 2. To form or furnish with a quirk 
or channel. 
In Grecian architecture, ovolos and ogees are usually 
quirked at the top. Weale. 
Quirked molding, a molding characterized by a sharp 
quirister 
quiristert (kwir'is-ti-r), . [Also i/iiirrixli-r. i/ 111 1 - 
isti-r, qui-n-xtfi- ; < quire 1 , n., + -inter. Cf. <//,- 
I'sfcr.] Same as chorixtt r. 
The deal' quiristers of the woods, the birds. 
Ford, Lover's .Melancholy, i. ]. 
The coy quiristers that lodge within 
Are prodigal of harmony. Thomson, Spring. 
quiritarian (kwir-i-ta/ri-an). ii. [< quiritary + 
-an.] In Bom. law, legal: noting a certain class 
or form of rights, as distinguished from hniii- 
tarian. The use is equivalent to that of legal in 
modern law, in contradistinction to equitable. 
They [the Roman lawyers] could conceive land as held 
(so to speak) under different legal dispensations, as belong, 
ing to one person in Quiritarian and to another in Boni- 
tarian ownership, a splitting of ownership which, after 
feudalism had fallen into decay, revived in our country in 
the distinction between the legal and the equitable estate. 
Maine, Early Law and Custom, p. 843. 
quiritary (kwir'i-ta-ri), a. [< ML. qiiirituriiix, 
< L. Quirites, the Roman citizens: see Quirites.] 
Same as quiritarian. Encyc. Brit.. XX. 682. 
niiiritatinri i-Vwi i ta'arintit fit i-n, and 8U(iden return from its extreme projection to a reen- 
quiritation (kwir-i-ta shon), . [< L. quintii- trant angle. Also called quirk muldihg. GwUt. 
tio(n-), a cry, a shriek, < qmritare, wail, shriek; quirk 2 (kwerk), P. i. [Cf. querk 1 .] 1 To emit 
commonly explained (first by Varro) as orig. the breath forcibly after retaining it in vio- 
call upon the Quirites or Roman citizens for lent exertion. Halliwell. [Prov. Eng.] 2 To 
aid,' < Qiuntcs, Quirites; prob. freq. of queri, grunt- complain. Halliwell. [Prov. Eug.] 
complain : see querent 1 , and cf. cry, ult. < quiri- quirk-float (kwerk'flot), . See float, 9 (c). 
tare.] A crying for help. quirking-plane (kwer'king-plan), . A mold- 
How is it then with thee, O Saviour, that thou thus ing-plane for working on convex surfaces. E. 
astonishest men and angels with so wofull a qmritation: H Knifiht 
(My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me'OY .' ,. J ,'. .,,.,, 
Bp. Hall, The Crucifixion, quirkish (kwer tash), a. [< quirk 1 + -mh 1 .] 
Quirite (kwir'it), H. [< L. Quiri* (Quirit-): see "Kj? th . e , ? haracter _ f f a V**5 consisting of 
Quirites.] One of the Quirites. quirks, quibbles, or artful evasions. [Rare.] 
Quirites (kwi-ri'tez), n. pi. [L., pi. of Quirin 
( Quirit-), orig. an inhabitant of the Sabine town 
Cures, later a Roman citizen (see def.); < Cures, 
a Sabine town.] The citizens of ancient Rome 
considered in their civil capacity. The name Qui- 
rites pertained to them in addition to that of limnani, the 
latter designation having application in their political and 
Quirked Moldings. 
A, quirked ogee 
quirked ovolo ; C, qi 
modern colonial American woodwork). 
>r cyma reversa (arch of Constantine, Rome) ; B. 
uirked cynja recta; D, quirked bead (S, C, D. 
9999, quirks. 
military capacity. 
quirk 1 (kwerk), n. 
haps a var. of * quirt (cf . jerki, jc rt), < W. chwired, 
craft, quirk (< ehwiori, turn briskly), = Gael. 
cuireid, a turn, wile, trick (cf. car, turn).] 1. 
A sharp turn or angle ; a sudden twist. 
Sometimes it [facetiousness] is lodged in a sly question, 
in a smart answer, in a quirkish reason. 
Barrow, Works, I. xiv. 
quirky (kwer'ki), a. [< quirk 1 + -y 1 .] 1. 
Abounding in quirks or twists; irregular; zig- 
zag; quirkish. [Rare.] 
Bordered by quirky lines. 
Philadelphia Times, June 1, 1885. 
of,v^ e i' ly ^w^"'''f''- P( ' r ," 2 - Full of quirks or subterfuges; shifty; qtfb- 
cf..erAi.KT<).<W.<*wira/. Ming . ch ^. acterize d by petty tricks: as, a 
quirky attorney; a, quirky question. 3. Mer- 
ry ; sportive. Halliwell. [Prov. Eng.] 
quirl (kwerl), r. and . See querl. 
Then have they neyther-stockes to these gay hosen, ... nrrirlpwinrit An n> " 
iuriously knit, with open seame down the legge, with q u l rl cwinat, . An < 
tuirkes and clockes about the anckles, and sometime iflnnu'ind. 
quirpele, . [Tamil.] A name for the mon- 
goos: used in India. Title and Burtiell. 
(naplie) interlaced with golde or silver threds. 
StiAbes, Anat. of Abuses, p. 31. (Nans, under nether-stocks.) 
Hence 2. An artful turn for evasion or sub- quirt (kwert), H. [Perhaps < Sp. cuerda, a cord, 
terf uge ; a shift ; a quibble : as, the quirks of a rope : see cord 1 .] A kind of riding-whip much 
pettifogger. 
As one said of a lawyer that, resolving not to be for- 
gotten, he made his will so full of intricate qmrla that 
his executors, if for nothing else, yet for very vexation of 
law, might have cause to remember him. 
Rev. T. Adams, Works, I. 76. 
3f. A fit or turn ; a short paroxysm. 
I have felt so many quirks of joy and grief. 
Shot., All's Well, iii. 2. 61. 
4. A smart taunt or retort; a slight conceit or " the ri s ht wrist b y a leather loop.' 
quibble; a quip; a flight of fancy. quirt (kwert), r. t. JX quirt, n.] 
I may chance have some odd quirks and remnants of wit 
broken on me. Shale., Much Ado, ii. 3. 245. 
Twisted quirks and happy hits, 
From misty men of letters; 
The tavern-hours of mighty wits. 
Tennyson, Will Waterproof. Quiscalinffi (kwis-ka-li'ne), n. pi. [NL., < 
5. Inclination ; turn; peculiarity; humor; ca- Quixcalus + -iuse.] "A subfamily of Icteridie, 
price. typified by the genus Quisealus, usually having 
I have heard of some kind of men that put quarrels pur- a lengthened and more or less boat-shaped tail, 
> tha't hei ' 8 ' t0 etheirvalou i^^^ hi ?, i ; 9 ?r i ! 1 somewhat crow-like or thrush-like bill, stout 
teet, and in the male the color entirely irides- 
cent-black; the American grackles or crow- 
blackbirds. The species are mostly terrestrial 
and gregarious. See Quiscalus and Scolecoplut- 
used in the western parts of the United States 
and in Spanish-American countries, it usually 
consists of a short stout stock, a few inches long, of wood, 
or of leather braided so tightly as to be rigid, and of a 
braided leather lash, about two feet long, flexible and very 
loosely attached to the stock. The quirt thus resembles 
a bull-whip in miniature. It is sometimes entirely braid- 
ed of leather, like a small black-snake, but so as then to 
make a short rigid handle and long flexible lash. The 
quirt is often ornamented fancifully, and generally hung 
, To strike or 
flog with a quirt. [Western U. S.] 
A first-class rider will sit throughout it all without 
moving from the saddle, quirting his horse all the time, 
though his hat may be jarred ott his head and his revolver 
out of its sheath. T. Roosevelt, The Century, XXXV. 854. 
6. A sudden turn or flourish in a musical air; 
a fantastic phrase. 
Light quirts of musick, broken and uneven, 
Make the soul dance upon a jig to heaven. 
The quirts of the melody arflt' unTikeSo!' <&alUS (kwis'ka-lus), . [NL. (Vieillot, 1816); 
old English ballads. Lathrop, Spanish Vistas, p. 126. a PP ar ,; * MJj - Q^^cita^msquila, quisquilla, etc., 
7. In building, a piece taken out of any regular 
ground-plot or floor, . as to make a court or 
yard, etc.: thus, if the ground-plan were square 
or oblong, and a piece were taken out of the 
corner, such piece is called a nuirk 8 Tn 
. 1 'J_**'li*t \J. Ul iirnu v"iiiiiin ' i "i> -i 'mi. ,\ nil u, ' >l pulpie Kl'HUKJU, IS \f.]/llr- 
ircn., an acute angle or recess; a deep inden- pureus (see cut under crow-blackbird) ; the boat-tailed 
tation; the incision under the abacus 9 A S racltle or jackdaw of the Southern States is Q. major (see 
fTm of a^homif VJfr ^ ^ tO | iU I* 16 WftS&SftaS "^ " * "* 
form ot a rhomb. Halliu-ell. [Prov. Eng.]- quisht, n. An obsolete form of cuisse. 
10. in a grooving-plane, a projecting fillet on quishint, n. An obsolete form of cushion 
fnV ^ 1 ,^ a " a ^ d to scrve as a fenco or Quisqualis (kwis-kwa'lis), n. [NL. (Rumphius, 
tor depth or distance Homi ana ,H^V TTI-\ ._,i :_ _n.._ 
its 
ealinse, having the bill elongated and crow-like, 
the tail long, graduated or rounded, and more 
or less keeled or boat-shaped. Several species in- 
habit the United States and warmer parts of America. 
The common crow-blackbird, or purple grackle. is <j. pur- 
molding the round part of which forms more than a semi- 
circle, and which has a sinking on the face termed the 
^"ti" 93f moldin e- x same a8 wMed molding. 
quu erk), v. [< quirk*, n.] I. iittrttim. 
' turn SQ arply. 
d changing colors of flowers, or from 
an uncertainty at first as to its classification : 
< L. quis, who, + quali*, of what kind.] A ge- 
nus of polypetalous plants of the order Combrc- 
taces and suborder Combretex. It Is characterized 
quit 
by a calyx with a small deciduous border and a slender 
tube below, far prolonged beyond the one-celled ovary; 
by its live petals and ten straight stamens; and by the 
Urge, hard, dry fruit with five wings, containing a single 
five-furrowed oblong seed and sometimes three cotyle- 
dons instead of the usual two. The :i or 4 species are 
natives of tropical Asia and Africa. They are shrubby 
climbers with slender hranchlets, opposite leaves, and 
handsome spiked or racemed flowers of changeable colors, 
passing from white or orange to red. Several species are 
in cultivation under glass, especially the Rangoon creeper, 
Q.Jndica, used by the Chinese as a vermifuge, 
quist (kwist), n. Same as quecst. [Prov. Eng.] 
quistle, . An obsolete or dialectal form of 
irk istle. 
quistront, n. [ME. quystron, questeroun, < OF. 
coistrpn, coestron, quistron, questrou, coisteroii, a 
scullion ; cf. F. cuistre, a college servant, a vul- 
gar pedant.] A scullion. 
This god of love of his fasonn 
Was lyke no knave ne quystron. 
Bom. of the Rose, 1. 886. 
quit 1 (kwit), a. [< ME. quit, quyt, quite, quyte, 
cwite = OFries. quit = D. kwijt = MLG. quit, 
LG. quit, quiet = MHG. quit, queit, G. quitt = 
leel. kvittr = Sw. quitt = Dan. knit, < OF. quite, 
euite, P. quitte = Pr. quiti = Sp. quito = Pg. 
quite, discharged, released, freed, < ML. quietus, 
discharged, released, freed, a particular use of 
L. quietus, at rest, quiet : see quiet, a., of which 
quit is a doublet. Cf. quietus.] Discharged or 
released from a debt, penalty, or obligation; 
on even terms ; absolved ; free ; clear. 
Yef ye will, leve me, and yef ye ne will, leve me nought ; 
for I ne leve yow nought, and so be we quyte. 
Merlin (E. E. T. S.), ii. 168. 
Tho that ben shryuen & verry contryte, 
Of alle here synnes he maketh hem quytt. 
Political Poems, etc. (ed. Furnivall), p. 118. 
I promise you that when I am quit of these (public af- 
fairs) I will engage in no other. 
B. Franklin, Autobiography, p. 317. 
Double or quits, in gambling, said when the stake due 
from one person to another is either to become double or 
to be reduced to nothing, according to the favorable or un- 
favorable issue of a certain chance. To be quit or quits 
(with one), to have made mutual satisfaction of claims or 
demands (with him); be on even terms (with him); hence, 
as an exclamation, quits! 'weareeven.' [In these phrases 
the adjective is used as a quasi-noun in a plural form.] 
I hope to be shortly quit with you for all Courtesies. 
Hwell, Letters, I. iv. 28. 
I'll be quit with him for discovering me. 
Sheridan, School for Scandal, iv. 3. 
To get quit Of. See jreti. 
quit 1 (kwit), p. t. ; pret. and pp. quit or quitted, 
ppr. quitting. [Early mod. E. also quite (a form 
still used in requite), and erroneously quight; 
< ME. quiten, quyten (= D. ku-ijten = MLG. qui- 
ten, LG. quitten = MHG. quiten, quiten, quitten, 
G. quitten = Icel. kvitta = Sw. quitta = Dan. 
kvitte), < OF. quiter, cuiter, quitter, F. quitter = 
Pr. Sp. Pg. quitar= It. quitare, chitare (ML. re- 
flex quitare, quittare), < ML. quietare, pay, dis- 
charge, quit, leave, abandon, particular uses 
of L. quietare, make quiet: see quiet, v., and 
etquifl.a, Cf. acquit, requite.] 1. To satisfy, 
as a claim or debt; discharge, as an obligation 
or duty; make payment for or of; pay; repay; 
requite. 
3ut more, to make pees and quyte menne dettes, . . . 
As Crist himself comauiideth to alle Cristene peuple. 
Piers Plowman (C), xlv. 78. 
I am endetted so therby, 
Of gold that I have borwed trewely, 
That whyl I lyve, I shal it quyte never. 
Chaucer, Viol, to Canon's Yeoman's Tale, L 183. 
Ill quite his cost or else myself will die. 
Greene, Alphonsus, L 
A litle mony from the law will quite thee, 
Fee but the Sumner, & he shall not cite thee. 
Times' Whistle (E. E. T. S.), p. 81. 
Like doth quit like, and measure still for measure. 
5Ao*., M. for M., v. 1. 416. 
First, all our debts are paid ; dangers of law, 
Actions, decrees, judgments against us, quitted. 
B. Jonson, Catiline, i. 1, 
Each looks as if he came to beg, 
And not to quit a score. 
Cotvper, The Yearly Distress. 
2. To set free; release; absolve; acquit; ex- 
onerate. 
God quit you in his mercy ! Shale., Hen. V., II. 2. 166. 
Vntil they that were accused to be the murtherers were 
quitted or condemned. Sir P. Sidney, Arcadia, v. 
I must quit 
Young Florio ; Lorenzo and myself 
Are only guilty of the prince's death. 
Shirley, Traitor, v. 3. 
3. To free, as from something harmful or op- 
pressing; relieve; clear; liberate: with of. 
If I quit you not presently, and for ever, of this cumber, 
you shall have power instantly ... to revoke your act. 
B. Jonson, Epiccene, v. 1. 
