Quaint

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• Quaint — Quaint, a. [OE. queint, queynte, coint, prudent, wise, cunning, pretty, odd, OF. cointe cultivated, amiable, agreeable, neat, fr. L. cognitus known, p. p. of cognoscere to know; con + noscere (for gnoscere) to know. See {Know}, and cf. {Acquaint} …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

• quaint´ly — quaint «kwaynt», adjective. 1. a) strange or odd in an interesting, pleasing, or amusing way: »Old photographs seem quaint to us today. b) old fashioned but picturesque or attractive: »a quaint old house. 2. Obsolete. wise; skilled; clever …   Useful english dictionary

• quaint — [kweınt] adj [Date: 1100 1200; : Old French; Origin: cointe clever , from Latin cognitus known ] unusual and attractive, especially in an old fashioned way ▪ a quaint little village in Yorkshire …   Dictionary of contemporary English

• quaint — [ kweınt ] adjective interesting or attractive with a slightly strange and old fashioned quality ╾ quaint|ly adverb …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

• quaint — (adj.) 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 (Cf. cognizance)). Sense of old fashioned but charming is first attested… …   Etymology dictionary

• quaint — [adj1] strange, odd bizarre, curious, droll, eccentric, erratic, fanciful, fantastic, freakish, freaky*, funny, idiosyncratic, laughable, oddball, offbeat, off the beaten track*, original, outlandish, peculiar, queer, singular, special, unusual,… …   New thesaurus

• quaint — index eccentric, nonconforming, novel, outdated, outmoded Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 …   Law dictionary

• quaint — *strange, odd, queer, outlandish, curious, peculiar, eccentric, erratic, singular, unique Analogous words: *fantastic, bizarre, grotesque: droll, funny, *laughable: archaic, antiquated, antique (see OLD) …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

• quaint — ► ADJECTIVE ▪ attractively unusual or old fashioned. DERIVATIVES quaintly adverb quaintness noun. ORIGIN originally in the sense «wise», «ingenious»: from Old French cointe, from Latin cognoscere ascertain …   English terms dictionary

• quaint — [kwānt] adj. [ME cointe < OFr < L cognitus, known: see COGNITION] 1. Obs. clever or skilled 2. Now Rare wrought with skill; ingenious 3. unusual or old fashioned in a pleasing way 4. singular; unusual; curious 5. fanciful; whimsical …   English World dictionary

• quaint — ac·quaint·ance; ac·quaint·ance·ship; quaint·ish; quaint·ly; quaint·ness; ac·quaint; quaint; un·ac·quaint·ed·ness; …   English syllables