Dictionary
Thesaurus
Reference
Translate
Web
quirk
5 dictionary results for: quirk
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
quirk       [kwurk] Pronunciation Key
–noun
1.a peculiarity of action, behavior, or personality; mannerism: He is full of strange quirks.
2.a shift, subterfuge, or evasion; quibble.
3.a sudden twist or turn: He lost his money by a quirk of fate.
4.a flourish or showy stroke, as in writing.
5.Architecture.
a.an acute angle or channel, as one dividing two parts of a molding or one dividing a flush bead from the adjoining surfaces.
b.an area taken from a larger area, as a room or a plot of ground.
c.an enclosure for this area.
6.Obsolete. a clever or witty remark; quip.
–adjective
7.formed with a quirk or channel, as a molding.
[Origin: 1540–50; orig. uncert.]

—Synonyms 1. See eccentricity.
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
CITE THIS SOURCE|PRINT
American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
quirk       (kwûrk)  Pronunciation Key 
n.  
  1. A peculiarity of behavior; an idiosyncrasy: "Every man had his own quirks and twists" (Harriet Beecher Stowe).
  2. An unpredictable or unaccountable act or event; a vagary: a quirk of fate.
  3. A sudden sharp turn or twist.
  4. An equivocation; a quibble.
  5. Architecture A lengthwise groove on a molding between the convex upper part and the soffit.


[Origin unknown.]

quirk'i·ly adv., quirk'i·ness n., quirk'y adj.
(Download Now or Buy the Book)
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
CITE THIS SOURCE|PRINT
Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
quirk 
1565, "quibble, evasion," of unknown origin, perhaps connected to Ger. quer (see queer) via notion of twisting and slanting; but its earliest appearance in western England dialect seems to argue against this source. Perhaps originally a technical term for a twist or flourish in weaving. Sense of "peculiarity" is 1601; quirky first attested 1806 with meaning "shifty;" sense of "idiosyncratic" first recorded 1960.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
CITE THIS SOURCE|PRINT
WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This
quirk

noun
1. a strange attitude or habit [syn: oddity] 
2. a narrow groove beside a beading 

verb
1. twist or curve abruptly; "She quirked her head in a peculiar way" 

WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.
CITE THIS SOURCE|PRINT
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Quirk

Quirk\, n. [Written also querk.] [Cf W. chwiori to turn briskly, or E. queer.]

1. A sudden turn; a starting from the point or line; hence, an artful evasion or subterfuge; a shift; a quibble; as, the quirks of a pettifogger. "Some quirk or . . . evasion." --Spenser.

We ground the justification of our nonconformity on dark subtilties and intricate quirks. --Barrow.

2. A fit or turn; a short paroxysm; a caprice. [Obs.] "Quirks of joy and grief." --Shak.

3. A smart retort; a quibble; a shallow conceit.

Some odd quirks and remnants of wit. --Shak.

4. An irregular air; as, light quirks of music. --Pope.

5. (Building) A piece of ground taken out of any regular ground plot or floor, so as to make a court, yard, etc.; -- sometimes written quink. --Gwilt.

6. (Arch.) A small channel, deeply recessed in proportion to its width, used to insulate and give relief to a convex rounded molding.

Quirk molding, a bead between two quirks.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
CITE THIS SOURCE|PRINT
Share This:Share This: digg.comShare This: ma.gnolia.comShare This: www.stumbleupon.comShare This: del.icio.usShare This: FacebookShare This: favorites.live.comShare This: www.technorati.comShare This: furl.netShare This: myweb2.search.yahoo.comShare This: www.google.com