Complete Definition of "quaint"

English

Etymology
From Old French cointe, and queinte pretty, clever, knowing < Latin cognitus known, past participle of cognoscere to know

Pronunciation
IPA|/kweɪnt/
:Rhymes: Rhymes:English:-eɪnt|-eɪnt

Adjective
en-adj|er

  1. Having old-fashioned charm.

#* It's a very quaint village with old-fashioned storefronts.

  1. Strange or odd in an interesting, pleasing, or amusing way.

#* came forth a quaint and fearful sight - Sir Walter Scott

  1. Highly incongruous, inappropriate, or illogical; naive, unreasonable -- usually used ironically.

#* of a quaint sense of honesty - wikipedia:Paul Engle|Paul Engle

  1. obsolete Characterized by cleverness or ingenuity; skillfully wrought or artfully contrived.

#* to show how quaint an orator you are - Shakespeare

  1. obsolete Overly discriminating or needlessly meticulous; fastidious.

#* being too quaint and finical in his expression - wikipedia:Roger L'Estrange|Roger L'Estrange

Translations
trans-top|old-fashioned charm
trans-mid
trans-bottom

trans-top|interestingly strange
Dutch: typisch
trans-mid
trans-bottom

trans-top|incongruous, inappropriate or illogical
trans-mid
trans-bottom

trans-top|cleverness or ingenuity
trans-mid
trans-bottom

trans-top|fastidious
trans-mid
trans-bottom

Derived terms
quaintly
quaintness

fr:quaint
io:quaint
hu:quaint
fi:quaint
te:quaint
vi:quaint
zh:quaint

Revision and Credits for"quaint"
Dictionary content provided from Wiktionary.org under the
GNU Free Documentation License
 
 

 Find:
  Words Starting With:
  Words Ending With:
  Words Containing:
  Words That Match:

 
 Translate Into:
  
Dutch   French   German
  
Italian   Spanish
    Show results per page.

Browse the Dictionary
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

   
Allwords Copyright 1998-2024 All rights reserved.