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adjective, -er, -est.
1.
having an old-fashioned attractiveness or charm; oddly picturesque: a quaint old house.
2.
strange, peculiar, or unusual in an interesting, pleasing, or amusing way: a quaint sense of humor.
3.
skillfully or cleverly made.
4.
Obsolete. wise; skilled.
Origin:
1175–1225; Middle English queinte < Old French, variant of cointe clever, pleasing ≪ Latin cognitus known (past participle of cognōscere; see cognition)
1175–1225; Middle English queinte < Old French, variant of cointe clever, pleasing ≪ Latin cognitus known (past participle of cognōscere; see cognition)
Related forms
quaint·ly, adverb
quaint·ness, noun
Synonyms
1. antiquated, archaic. 2. curious, uncommon.
1. antiquated, archaic. 2. curious, uncommon.
Antonyms
2. ordinary.
2. ordinary.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Quaint
is always a great word to know.
So is bezoar. Does it mean:
| a gadget; dingus; thingumbob. |
| a calculus or concretion found in the stomach or intestines of certain animals, esp. ruminants, formerly reputed to be an effective remedy for poison. |
Example Sentences
- She found the building quaint and historic; he thought it was just old.
- She has a quaint morality, a narcissistic personality.
- The notion of solitude seems quaint nowadays.
Collins
World English Dictionary
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History
quaint
early 13c., "cunning, proud, ingenious," from O.Fr. cointe "pretty, clever, knowing," from L. cognitus "known," pp. of cognoscere "get or come to know well" (see cognizance). Sense of "old-fashioned but charming" is first attested 1795, and could describe the word itself,
EXPANDwhich had become rare after c.1700 (though it soon recovered popularity in this secondary sense). Chaucer used quaint and queynte as spellings of cunt in "Canterbury Tales" (c.1386), and Andrew Marvell may be punning on it similarly in "To His Coy Mistress" (1650).
COLLAPSE
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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