Chapter CCCLIX: Prologue (10)

2. To doubt of; to be uncertain of; to query. And most we question what we most desire. Prior.

3. To raise a question about; to call in question; to make objection to. "But have power and right to question thy bold entrance on this place." Milton.

4. To talk to; to converse with. With many holiday and lady terms he questioned me. Shak.

Syn. -- To ask; interrogate; catechise; doubt; controvert; dispute. -- Question, Inquire, Interrogate. To inquire is merely to ask for information, and implies no authority in the one who asks. To interrogate is to put repeated questions in a formal or systematic fashion to elicit some particular fact or facts. To question has a wider sense than to interrogate, and often implies an attitude of distrust or opposition on the part of the questioner.

QUESTIONABILITY Ques`tion*a*bil"i*ty, n.

Defn: The state or condition of being questionable. Stallo.

QUESTIONABLE Ques"tion*a*ble, a.

1. Admitting of being questioned; inviting, or seeming to invite, inquiry. [R.] Thou com'st in such a questionable shape That I will speak to thee. Shak.

2. Liable to question; subject to be doubted or called in question; problematical; doubtful; suspicious. It is questionable whether Galen ever saw the dissection of a human body.T. Baker.

Syn. -- Disputable; debatable; uncertain; doubtful; problematical; suspicious.

QUESTIONABLENESS Ques"tion*a*ble*ness, n.

Defn: The quality or state of being questionable, doubtful, or suspicious.

QUESTIONABLY Ques"tion*a*bly, adv.

Defn: In a questionable manner.

QUESTIONARY Ques"tion*a*ry, a.

Defn: Inquiring; asking questions; testing. "Questionary epistles." Pope.

QUESTIONARY Ques"tion*a*ry, n.

Defn: One who makes it his business to seek after relics and carry them about for sale.

QUESTIONER Ques"tion*er, n.

Defn: One who asks questions; an inquirer. "Little time for idle questioners." Tennyson.

QUESTIONIST Ques"tion*ist, n.

1. A questioner; an inquirer. [Obs.]

2. (Eng. Univ.)

Defn: A candidate for honors or degrees who is near the time of his examination.

QUESTIONLESS Ques"tion*less, a.

Defn: Unquestioning; incurious. [R.]

QUESTIONLESS Ques"tion*less, adv.

Defn: Beyond a question or doubt; doubtless; certainly.[R.] South. What it was in the apostles' time, that, questionless, it must be still. Milton.

QUESTIONNAIRE Ques`tion`naire", n.; pl. -naires (F. ). [F.]

Defn: = Questionary, above.

QUESTMAN Quest"man, n.; pl. Questmen (.

Defn: One legally empowered to make quest of certain matters, esp. of abuses of weights and measures. Specifically: (a) A churchwarden's assistant; a sidesman. Blount. [Obs.] (b) A collector of parish rents. Blount. [Obs.]

QUESTMONGER Quest"mon`ger, n.

Defn: One who lays informations, and encourages petty lawsuits. [Obs.] Bacon.

QUESTOR Ques"tor, n. Etym: [L. quaestor, contr. fr. quaesitor, fr. quaerere, quaesitum, to seek for, ask: cf. F. questeur.] (Rom. Antiq.)

Defn: An officer who had the management of the public treasure; a receiver of taxes, tribute, etc.; treasurer of state. [Written also quæstor.]

Note: At an early period there were also public accusers styled questors, but the office was soon abolished.

QUESTORSHIP Ques"tor*ship, n.

Defn: The office, or the term of office, of a questor.

QUESTRIST Quest"rist, n. Etym: [See Quest.]

Defn: A seeker; a pursuer. [Obs.] "Hot questrists after him." Shak.

QUESTUARY Ques"tu*a*ry, a. Etym: [L. quaestuarius, from quaestus gain, profit, quaerere, quaesitum, to seek for, earn.]

Defn: Studious of profit. [Obs.] Sir T. Browne.

QUESTUARY Ques"tu*a*ry, n.

Defn: One employed to collect profits. [R.] "The pope's questuaries." Jer. Taylor.

QUET Quet, n. (Zoöl.)

Defn: The common guillemot. [Prov. Eng.]

QUEUE Queue, n. Etym: [F. See Cue.] (a) A tail-like appendage of hair; a pigtail. (b) A line of persons waiting anywhere.

QUEUE Queue, v. t.

Defn: To fasten, as hair, in a queue.

QUEY Quey, n. Etym: [Cf. Dan. qvie.]

Defn: A heifer. [Scot.]

QUIB Quib, n. Etym: [Cf. Quip.]

Defn: A quip; a gibe.

QUIBBLE Quib"ble, n. Etym: [Probably fr. quib, quip, but influenced by quillet, or quiddity.]

1. A shift or turn from the point in question; a trifling or evasive distinction; an evasion; a cavil. Quibbles have no place in the search after truth. I. Watts.

2. A pun; a low conceit.

QUIBBLE Quib"ble, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Quibbled; p. pr. & vb. n. Quibbling.]

1. To evade the point in question by artifice, play upon words, caviling, or by raising any insignificant or impertinent question or point; to trifle in argument or discourse; to equivocate.

2. To pun; to practice punning. Cudworth.

Syn. -- To cavil; shuffle; equivocate; trifle.

QUIBBLER Quib"bler, n.

Defn: One who quibbles; a caviler; also, a punster.

QUIBBLINGLY Quib"bling*ly, adv.

Defn: Triflingly; evasively.

QUICA Qui"ca, n. Etym: [From the native Brazilian name.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: A small South American opossum (Didelphys quica), native of Guiana and Brazil. It feeds upon insects, small birds, and fruit.

QUICE Quice, n. (Zoöl.)

Defn: See Queest.

QUICH Quich, v. i. Etym: [Cf. Quinch.]

Defn: To stir. [Obs.] He could not move nor quich at all. Spenser.

QUICHUAN Qui"chuan, a.

Defn: Designating, or pertaining to, a linguistic stock of South American Indians, including the majority of the civilized tribes of the ancient Peruvian Empire with some wild tribes never subjugated by the Incas. Most of these Indians are short, but heavy and strong. They are brachycephalic and of remarkably low cranial capacity. Nevertheless, they represent one of the highest of native American civilizations, characterized by agricultural, military, and administrative skill rather than by science or literature, although they were adept potters, weavers, and goldsmiths, and preserved by the aid of the mnemonic quipu a body of legendary lore in part written down since the introduction of writing.

QUICK Quick, a. [Compar. Quicker; superl. Quickest.] Etym: [As. cwic, cwicu, cwucu, cucu, living; akin to OS. quik, D. kwik, OHG. quec, chec, G. keck bold, lively, Icel. kvikr living, Goth. qius, Lith. qyvas, Russ. zhivoi, L. vivus living, vivere to live, Gr. bi`os life, Skr. jiva living, jiv to live. Cf. Biography, Vivid, Quitch grass, Whitlow.]

1. Alive; living; animate; -- opposed to dead or inanimate. Not fully quyke, ne fully dead they were. Chaucer. The Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom. 2 Tim. iv. 1. Man is no star, but a quick coal Of mortal fire. Herbert.

Note: In this sense the word is nearly obsolete, except in some compounds, or in particular phrases.

2. Characterized by life or liveliness; animated; sprightly; agile; brisk; ready. " A quick wit." Shak.

3. Speedy; hasty; swift; not slow; as, be quick Oft he her his charge of quick return Repeated. Milton.

4. Impatient; passionate; hasty; eager; eager; sharp; unceremonious; as, a quick temper. The bishop was somewhat quick with them, and signified that he was much offended. Latimer.

5. Fresh; bracing; sharp; keen. The air is quick there, And it pierces and sharpens the stomach. Shak.

6. Sensitive; perceptive in a high degree; ready; as, a quick ear. "To have an open ear, a quick eye." Shak. They say that women are so quick. Tennyson.

7. Pregnant; with child. Shak. Quick grass. (Bot.) See Quitch grass. -- Quick match. See under Match. -- Quick vein (Mining), a vein of ore which is productive, not barren. -- Quick vinegar, vinegar made by allowing a weak solution of alcohol to trickle slowly over shavings or other porous material. -- Quick water, quicksilver water. -- Quick with child, pregnant with a living child.

Syn. -- Speedy; expeditious; swift; rapid; hasty; prompt; ready; active; brisk; nimble; fleet; alert; agile; lively; sprightly.

QUICK Quick, adv.

Defn: In a quick manner; quickly; promptly; rapidly; with haste; speedily; without delay; as, run quick; get back quick. If we consider how very quick the actions of the mind are performed. Locke.

QUICK Quick, n.

1. That which is quick, or alive; a living animal or plant; especially, the hawthorn, or other plants used in making a living hedge. The works . . . are curiously hedged with quick. Evelyn.

2. The life; the mortal point; a vital part; a part susceptible of serious injury or keen feeling; the sensitive living flesh; the part of a finger or toe to which the nail is attached; the tender emotions; as, to cut a finger nail to the quick; to thrust a sword to the quick, to taunt one to the quick; -- used figuratively. This test nippeth, . . . this toucheth the quick. Latimer. How feebly and unlike themselves they reason when they come to the quick of the difference ! Fuller.

3. (Bot.)

Defn: Quitch grass. Tennyson.

QUICK Quick, v. t. & i. Etym: [See Quicken.]

Defn: To revive; to quicken; to be or become alive. [Obs.] Chaucer.

QUICKBEAM Quick"beam`, n. Etym: [A. S. cwicbeám.]

Defn: See Quicken tree.

QUICKEN Quick"en, v. t. [imp. & p. p. quickened; p. pr. & vb. n. Quickening.] Etym: [AS. cwician. See Quick, a.]

1. To make alive; to vivify; to revive or resuscitate, as from death or an inanimate state; hence, to excite; to, stimulate; to incite. The mistress which I serve quickens what's dead. Shak. Like a fruitful garden without an hedge, that quickens the appetite to enjoy so tempting a prize. South.

2. To make lively, active, or sprightly; to impart additional energy to; to stimulate; to make quick or rapid; to hasten; to accelerate; as, to quicken one's steps or thoughts; to quicken one's departure or speed.

3. (Shipbuilding)

Defn: To shorten the radius of (a curve); to make (a curve) sharper; as, to quicken the sheer, that is, to make its curve more pronounced.

Syn. -- To revive; resuscitate; animate; reinvigorate; vivify; refresh; stimulate; sharpen; incite; hasten; accelerate; expedite; dispatch; speed.

QUICKEN Quick"en, v. i.

1. To come to life; to become alive; to become vivified or enlivened; hence, to exhibit signs of life; to move, as the fetus in the womb. The heart is the first part that quickens, and the last that dies. Ray. And keener lightnings quicken in her eye. Pope. When the pale and bloodless east began To quicken to the sun. Tennyson.

2. To move with rapidity or activity; to become accelerated; as, his pulse quickened.

QUICKENER Quick"en*er, n.

Defn: One who, or that which, quickens.

QUICKENING Quick"en*ing, n.

1. The act or process of making or of becoming quick.

2. (Physiol.)

Defn: The first motion of the fetus in the womb felt by the mother, occurring usually about the middle of the term of pregnancy. It has been popularly supposed to be due to the fetus becoming possessed of independent life.

QUICKENS Quick"ens, n. (Bot.)

Defn: Quitch grass.

QUICKEN TREE Quick"en tree`. Etym: [Probably from quick, and first applied to the aspen or some tree with quivering leaves; cf. G. quickenbaum, quizenbaum, quitschenbaum. Cf. Quitch grass.] (Bot.)

Defn: The European rowan tree; -- called also quickbeam, and quickenbeam. See Rowan tree.

QUICKHATCH Quick"hatch`, n. Etym: [From the American Indian name.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: The wolverine.

QUICKLIME Quick"lime, n. Etym: [See Quick, a.] (Chem.)

Defn: Calcium oxide; unslacked lime; -- so called because when wet it develops great heat. See 4th Lime, 2.

QUICKLY Quick"ly, adv.

Defn: Speedily; with haste or celerity; soon; without delay; quick.

QUICKNESS Quick"ness, n.

1. The condition or quality of being quick or living; life. [Obs.] Touch it with thy celestial quickness. Herbert.

2. Activity; briskness; especially, rapidity of motion; speed; celerity; as, quickness of wit. This deed . . . must send thee hence With fiery quickness. Shak. His mind had, indeed, great quickness and vigor. Macaulay.

3. Acuteness of perception; keen sensibility. Would not quickness of sensation be an inconvenience to an animal that must lie still Locke

4. Sharpness; pungency of taste. Mortimer.

Syn. -- Velocity; celerity; rapidity; speed; haste; expedition; promptness; dispatch; swiftness; nimbleness; fleetness; agility; briskness; liveliness; readiness; sagacity; shrewdness; shrewdness; sharpness; keenness.

QUICKSAND Quick"sand`, n.

Defn: Sand easily moved or readily yielding to pressure; especially, a deep mass of loose or moving sand mixed with water, sometimes found at the mouth of a river or along some coasts, and very dangerous, from the difficulty of extricating a person who begins sinking into it. Life hath quicksands, -- Life hath snares! Longfellow.

QUICK-SCENTED Quick"-scent`ed, a.

Defn: Acute of smell.

QUICKSET Quick"set`, n.

Defn: A living plant set to grow, esp. when set for a hedge; specifically, the hawthorn.

QUICKSET Quick"set`, a.

Defn: Made of quickset. Dates and pomegranates on the quickset hedges. Walpole.

QUICKSET Quick"set`, v. t.

Defn: To plant with living shrubs or trees for a hedge; as, to quickset a ditch. Mortimer.

QUICK-SIGHTED Quick"-sight`ed, a.

Defn: Having quick sight or acute discernment; quick to see or to discern. Locke. --Quick"-sight`ed*ness, n.

QUICKSILVER Quick"sil`ver, n. Etym: [Quick living + silver; -- so called from its fluidity; cf. G. quecksilber, L. argentum vivum. See Quick, a.] (Chem.)

Defn: The metal mercury; -- so called from its resemblance to liquid silver. Quicksilver horizon, a mercurial artificial horizon. See under Horizon. -- Quicksilver water, a solution of mercury nitrate used in artificial silvering; quick water.

QUICKSILVERED Quick"sil`vered, a.

Defn: Overlaid with quicksilver, or with an amalgam of quicksilver and tinfoil.

QUICKSILVERING Quick"sil`ver*ing, n.

Defn: The mercury and foil on the back of a looking-glass.

QUICKSTEP Quick"step`, n. (Mus.)

Defn: A lively, spirited march; also, a lively style of dancing.

QUICK-WITTED Quick"-wit`ted, a.

Defn: Having ready wit Shak.

QUICK-WITTEDNESS Quick"-wit`ted*ness, n.

Defn: Readiness of wit. "Celtic quick-wittedness." M. Arnold.

QUICKWORK Quick"work`, n. (Naut.) A term somewhat loosely used to denote: (a) All the submerged section of a vessel's planking. (b) The planking between the spirketing and the clamps. (c) The short planks between the portholes.

QUID Quid, n. Etym: [See Cud.]

Defn: A portion suitable to be chewed; a cud; as, a quid of tobacco.

QUID Quid, v. t. (Man.)

Defn: To drop from the mouth, as food when partially chewed; -- said of horses. Youatt.

QUIDAM Qui"dam, n. Etym: [L.]

Defn: Somebody; one unknown. Spenser.

QUIDDANY Quid"da*ny, n. Etym: [L. cydoneum quince juice, quince wine. See Quince.]

Defn: A confection of quinces, in consistency between a sirup and marmalade.

QUIDDATIVE Quid"da*tive, a. Etym: [See Quiddity.]

Defn: Constituting, or containing, the essence of a thing; quidditative.

QUIDDIT Quid"dit, n. Etym: [Cf. Quiddity, Quillet, and Quibble.]

Defn: A subtilty; an equivocation. [Obs.] Shak. By some strange quiddit or some wrested clause. Drayton.

QUIDDITATIVE Quid"di*ta*tive, a.

Defn: Quiddative.

QUIDDITY Quid"di*ty, n.; pl. Quiddities. Etym: [LL. quidditas, fr. L. quid what, neut. of quis who, akin to E. who: cf. F. quiddité.]

1. The essence, nature, or distinctive peculiarity, of a thing; that which answers the question, Quid est or, What is it " The degree of nullity and quiddity." Bacon. The quiddity or characteristic difference of poetry as distinguished from prose. De Quincey.

2. A trifling nicety; a cavil; a quibble. We laugh at the quiddities of those writers now. Coleridge.

QUIDDLE Quid"dle, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Quiddled; p. pr. & vb. n. Quiddling.] Etym: [L. quid what.]

Defn: To spend time in trifling employments, or to attend to useful subjects in an indifferent or superficial manner; to dawdle.

QUIDDLE; QUIDDLER Quid"dle, Quid"dler, n.

Defn: One who wastes his energy about trifles. Emerson.

QUIDNUNC Quid"nunc, n. Etym: [L., what now]

Defn: One who is curious to know everything that passes; one who knows, or pretends to know, all that is going on. "The idle stories of quidnuncs." Motley.

QUIESCE Qui*esce", v. i. [imp. & p. p. Quiesced; p. pr. & vb. n. Quiescing.] Etym: [L. quiescere, akin to quies rest, quiet. See Quiet, a. & n.]

Defn: To be silent, as a letter; to have no sound. M. Stuart.

QUIESCENCE; QUIESCENCY Qui*es"cence, Qui*es"cen*cy, n. Etym: [L. quiescentia, fr. quiescens, p. pr.; cf. F. quiestence. See Quiesce.]

Defn: The state or quality of being quiescent. "Quiescence, bodily and mental." H. Spencer. Deeds will be done; -- while be boasts his quiescence. R. Browning.

QUIESCENT Qui*es"cent, a. Etym: [L. quiescens, -entis, p. pr. of quiescere: cf. F. quiescent. See Quiesce.]

1. Being in a state of repose; at rest; still; not moving; as, a quiescent body or fluid.

2. Not ruffed with passion; unagitated; not in action; not excited; quiet; dormant; resting. In times of national security, the feeling of patriotism . . . is so quiescent that it seems hardly to exist. Prof. Wilson.

3. (Gram.)

Defn: Not sounded; silent; as, y is quiescent in "day" and "say."

QUIESCENT Qui*es"cent, n. (Gram.)

Defn: A silent letter. M. Stuart.

QUIESCENTLY Qui*es"cent*ly, adv.

Defn: In a quiescent manner.

QUIET Qui"et, a. [Compar. Quieter; superl. Quietest.] Etym: [L. quietus, p. p. pf quiescere to rest, keep quiet; akin to quies rest, and prob. to E. while, n. See While, and cf. Coy, a., Quiesce, Quietus, Quit, a., Quite, Requiem.]

1. In a state of rest or calm; without stir, motion, or agitation; still; as, a quiet sea; quiet air. They . . . were quiet all the night, saying, In the morning, when it is day, we shall kill him. Judg. xvi. 2.

2. Free from noise or disturbance; hushed; still.

3. Not excited or anxious; calm; peaceful; placid; settled; as, a quiet life; a quiet conscience. " So quiet and so sweet a style." Shak. That son, who on the quiet state of man Such trouble brought. Milton.

4. Not giving offense; not exciting disorder or trouble; not turbulent; gentle; mild; meek; contented. The ornament of a meek and quiet spirit. 1 Pet. iii. 4. I will sit as quiet as a lamb. Shak.

5. Not showy; not such as to attract attention; undemonstrative; as, a quiet dress; quiet colors; a quiet movement.

Syn. -- Still; tranquil; calm; unruffled; smooth; unmolested; undisturbed; placid; peaceful; mild; peaceable; meek; contented.

QUIET Qui"et n. Etym: [L. quies, -etis. See Quiet, a.]

1. The quality or state of being quiet, or in repose; as an hour or a time of quiet.

2. Freedom from disturbance, noise, or alarm; stillness; tranquillity; peace; security. And join with thee, calm Peace and Quiet. Milton. At quiet, still; peaceful. -- In quiet, quietly. " I will depart in quiet." Shak. -- Out of quiet, disturbed; restless. [Obs.] "She is much out of quiet." Shak.

QUIET Qui"et, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Quieted; p. pr. & vb. n. Quieting.]

1. To stop motion in; to still; to reduce to a state of rest, or of silence.

2. To calm; to appease; to pacify; to lull; to allay; to tranquillize; as, to quiet the passions; to quiet clamors or disorders; to quiet pain or grief. Quiet yourselves, I pray, and be at peace. Shak.

QUIET Qui"et, v. i.

Defn: To become still, silent, or calm; -- often with down; as, be soon quieted down.

QUIETAGE Qui"et*age, n.

Defn: Quietness. [Obs.] Spenser.

QUIETER Qui"et*er, n.

Defn: One who, or that which, quiets.

QUIETISM Qui"et*ism, n. Etym: [Cf. F. quiétisme.]

1. Peace or tranquillity of mind; calmness; indifference; apathy; dispassion; indisturbance; inaction.

2. (Eccl. Hist.)

Defn: The system of the Quietists, who maintained that religion consists in the withdrawal of the mind from worldly interests and anxieties and its constant employment in the passive contemplation of God and his attributes.

QUIETIST Qui"et*ist, n. Etym: [Cf. F. quiétiste.] (Eccl. Hist.)

Defn: One of a sect of mystics originated in the seventeenth century by Molinos, a Spanish priest living in Rome. See Quietism.

QUIETISTIC Qui`et*is"tic, a.

Defn: Of or pertaining to the Quietists, or to Quietism.

QUIETLY Qui"et*ly, adv.

1. In a quiet state or manner; without motion; in a state of rest; as, to lie or sit quietly.

2. Without tumult, alarm, dispute, or disturbance; peaceably; as, to live quietly; to sleep quietly.

3. Calmly, without agitation or violent emotion; patiently; as, to submit quietly to unavoidable evils.

4. Noiselessly; silently; without remark or violent movement; in a manner to attract little or no observation; as, he quietly left the room.

QUIETNESS Qui"et*ness, n.

Defn: The quality or state of being quiet; freedom from noise, agitation, disturbance, or excitement; stillness; tranquillity; calmness. I would have peace and quietness. Shak.

QUIETSOME Qui"et*some, a.

Defn: Calm; still. [Obs.] Spenser.

QUIETUDE Qui"e*tude, n. Etym: [L. quietudo: cf. F. quiétude.]

Defn: Rest; repose; quiet; tranquillity. Shelley.

QUIETUS Qui*e"tus, n. Etym: [LL. quietus quit, discharged, L., at rest, quiet, dead. See Quiet, a., and cf. Quit, a.]

Defn: Final discharge or acquittance, as from debt or obligation; that which silences claims; (Fig.) rest; death. When he himself might his quietus make With a bare bodkin. Shak.

QUILL Quill, n. Etym: [Perhaps fr. F. quille ninepin (see Kayless); but cf. also G. kiel a quill. MHG. kil, and Ir. cuille a quill.]

1. One of the large feathers of a bird's wing, or one of the rectrices of the tail; also, the stock of such a feather.

2. A pen for writing made by sharpening and splitting the point or nib of the stock of a feather; as, history is the proper subject of his quill. Sir H. Wotton.

3. (Zoöl.) (a) A spine of the hedgehog or porcupine. (b) The pen of a squid. See Pen.

4. (Mus.) (a) The plectrum with which musicians strike the strings of certain instruments. (b) The tube of a musical instrument. He touched the tender stops of various quills. Milton.

5. Something having the form of a quill; as: (a) The fold or plain of a ruff. (b) (Weaving) A spindle, or spool, as of reed or wood, upon which the thread for the woof is wound in a shuttle. (c) (Mach.) A hollow spindle. Quill bit, a bit for boring resembling the half of a reed split lengthways and having its end sharpened like a gouge. -- Quill driver, one who works with a pen; a writer; a clerk. [Jocose] -- Quill nib, a small quill pen made to be used with a holder. Simmonds.

QUILL Quill, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Quilled; p. pr. & vb. n. Quilling.]

1. To plaint in small cylindrical ridges, called quillings; as, to quill a ruffle. His cravat seemed quilled into a ruff. Goldsmith.

2. To wind on a quill, as thread or yarn. Judd.

QUILLAIA BARK Quil*la"ia bark`. (Bot.)

Defn: The bark of a rosaceous tree (Quillaja Saponaria), native of Chili. The bark is finely laminated, and very heavy with alkaline substances, and is used commonly by the Chilians instead of soap. Also called soap bark.

QUILLBACK Quill"back`, n. (Zoöl.)

Defn: An American fresh-water fish (Ictiobus, or Carpiodes, cyprinus); -- called also carp sucker, sailfish, spearfish, and skimback.

QUILLED Quilled, a.

Defn: Furnished with quills; also, shaped like quills. "A sharp- quilled porcupine." Shak. Quilled suture (Surg.), a variety of stitch in which the threads after being passed deeply through the edges of a wound are secured about two quills or bodies of similar shape, in order to produce a suitable degree of pressure.

QUILLET Quil"let, n. Etym: [L. quidlibet what you please. Cf. Quiddit, and Quibble.]

Defn: Subtilty; nicety; quibble. "Nice, sharp quillets of the law." Shak.

QUILLING Quill"ing, n. (a) A band of linen, muslin, or the like, fluted, folded, or plaited so as somewhat to resemble a row of quills. (b) One of the rounded plaits or flutings of such a band.

QUILLWORT Quill"wort`, n. (Bot.)

Defn: Any plant or species of the genus Isoetes, cryptogamous plants with a cluster of elongated four-tubed rushlike leaves, rising from a corm, and containing spores in their enlarged and excavated bases. There are about seventeen American species, usually growing in the mud under still, shallow water. So called from the shape of the shape of the leaves.

QUILT Quilt, n. Etym: [OE. quilte, OF. cuilte, L. culcita bed, cushion, mattress. Cf. 2d Counterpoint, Cushion.]

Defn: Anything that is quilted; esp., a quilted bed cover, or a skirt worn by women; any cover or garment made by putting wool, cotton, etc., between two cloths and stitching them together; also, any outer bed cover. The beds were covered with magnificent quilts. Arbuthnot.

QUILT Quilt, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Quilted; p. pr. & vb. n. Quilting.]

1. To stitch or sew together at frequent intervals, in order to confine in place the several layers of cloth and wadding of which a garment, comforter, etc., may be made; as, to quilt a coat. Dryden.

2. To wad, as a garment, with warm soft material.

3. To stitch or sew in lines or patterns.

QUILTER Quilt"er, n.

Defn: One who, or that which, quilts.

QUILTING Quilt"ing, n.

1. The act of stitching or running in patterns, as in making a quilt.

2. A quilting bee. See Bee, 2.

3. The material used for making quilts.

4. (Naut.)

Defn: A coating of strands of rope for a water vessel.

QUIN Quin, n. (Zoöl.)

Defn: A European scallop (Pecten opercularis), used as food. [Prov. Eng.]

QUINALDINE Quin*al"dine, n. Etym: [Quinoline + aldehyde + aniline.] (Chem.)

Defn: A colorless liquid of a slightly pungent odor, C9H6N.CH3, first obtained as a condensation product of aldehyde and aniline, and regarded as a derivative of quinoline; -- called also methyl quinoline. [Written also chinaldine.]

QUINARY Qui"na*ry, a. Etym: [L. quinarius, from quini five each, akin to quinque five: cf. F.quinaire. See Five.]

Defn: Consisting of five; arranged by fives. Boyle. Quinary system (Zoöl.), a fanciful classification based on the hypothesis that each group contains five types.

QUINATE Qui"nate, a. Etym: [L. quini five each.] (Bot.)

Defn: Growing in sets of five; -- said especially of leaves composed of five leaflets set at the end of a common petiole.

QUINATE Qui"nate, n. (Chem.)

Defn: A salt of quinic acid. [Written also kinate.]

QUINAZOL Quin"a*zol, n. Etym: [Quinoline + azote.] (Chem.)

Defn: A complex nitrogenous base related to cinnoline. [Written also chinazol.]

QUINCE Quince, n. Etym: [Prob. a pl. from OE. quyne, coin, OF. coin, cooin, F. coing, from L. Cydonius a quince tree, as adj., Cydonian, Gr. Quiddany.]

1. The fruit of a shrub (Cydonia vulgaris) belonging to the same tribe as the apple. It somewhat resembles an apple, but differs in having many seeds in each carpel. It has hard flesh of high flavor, but very acid, and is largely used for marmalade, jelly, and preserves.

2. (Bot.)

Defn: a quince tree or shrub. Japan quince (Bot.), an Eastern Asiatic shrub (Cydonia, formerly Pyrus, Japonica) and its very fragrant but inedible fruit. The shrub has very showy flowers, usually red, but sometimes pink or white, and is much grown for ornament. -- Quince curculio (Zoöl.), a small gray and yellow curculio (Conotrachelus cratægi) whose larva lives in quinces. -- Quince tree (Bot.), the small tree (Cydonia vulgaris) which produces the quince.

QUINCEWORT Quince"wort`, n. (Bot.)

Defn: The squinancy. Called also quinsywort.

QUINCH Quinch, v. i. Etym: [Cf. OD. quincken to quiver, shake, Fries. quink hovering. Cf. Quich.]

Defn: To stir; to wince. [Obs.] Spenser.

QUINCUNCIAL Quin*cun"cial, Etym: [L. quincuncialis, from quincunx. See Quincunx.]

1. Having the form of a quincunx.

2. (Bot.)

Defn: Having the leaves of a pentamerous calyx or corolla so imbricated that two are exterior, two are interior, and the other has one edge exterior and one interior; as, quincuncial æstivation. Quincuncial phyllotaxy (Bot.), an arrangement of five leaves in a spiral, each leaf two fifths of a circle from the next.

QUINCUNCIALLY Quin*cun"cial*ly, adv.

Defn: In the manner or order of a quincunx.

QUINCUNX Quin"cunx, n. Etym: [L., fr. quingue five + uncia an ounce. The quincunx was marked by five small spots or balls. See Five, and Ounce the weight.]

1. An arrangement of things by fives in a square or a rectangle, one being placed at each corner and one in the middle; especially, such an arrangement of trees repeated indefinitely, so as to form a regular group with rows running in various directions.

2. (Astrol.)

Defn: The position of planets when distant from each other five signs, or 150º. Hutton.

3. (Bot.)

Defn: A quincuncial arrangement, as of the parts of a flower in æstivation. See Quincuncial, 2.

QUINDECAGON Quin*dec"a*gon, n. Etym: [L. quindecim fifteen + Gr. (Geom.)

Defn: A plane figure with fifteen angles, and consequently fifteen sides.

QUINDECEMVIR Quin`de*cem"vir, n.; pl. E. Quindecemvirs, L. Quindecemviri. Etym: [L., from quindecim fifteen + vir a man.] (Rom. Antiq.)

Defn: One of a sacerdotal college of fifteen men whose chief duty was to take care of the Sibylline books.

QUINDECEMVIRATE Quin`de*cem"vi*rate, n. Etym: [L. quindecimviratus.]

Defn: The body or office of the quindecemviri.

QUINDECONE Quin*dec"one, n. Etym: [L. quindecim fifteen.] (Chem.)

Defn: An unsaturated hydrocarbon, C15H26, of the valylene series, produced artificially as an oily liquid. [Written also quindekone.]

QUINDECYLIC Quin`de*cyl"ic, n. Etym: [L. quindecim fifteen + -yl.] (Chem.)

Defn: Pertaining to, or designating, an acid of the fatty acid series, containing fifteen atoms of carbon; called also pentadecylic acid.

QUINDEM Quin"dem, n.

Defn: A fifteenth part. [Obs.]

QUINDISM Quin"dism, n.

Defn: A fifteenth. [Obs.] Prynne.

QUINHYDRONE Quin*hy"drone, n. Etym: [Quinone + hydroquinone.] (Chem.)

Defn: A green crystalline substance formed by the union of quinone with hydroquinone, or as an intermediate product in the oxidation of hydroquinone or the reduction of quinone. [Written also chinhydrone.]

QUINIA Quin"i*a, n. Etym: [NL.] (Chem.)

Defn: Quinine.

QUINIBLE Quin"i*ble, n. Etym: [L. quini five each.] (Mus.)

Defn: An interval of a fifth; also, a part sung with such intervals. [Obs.] "He sang . . . a loud quynyble." Chaucer.

QUINIC Quin"ic, a. Etym: [See Quinine, and cf. Kinic.] (Chem.)

Defn: Pertaining to, derived from, or connected with, quinine and related compounds; specifically, designating a nonnitrogenous acid obtained from cinchona bark, coffee, beans, etc., as a white crystalline substance. [Written also chinic, kinic.]

QUINICINE Quin"i*cine, n. (Chem.)

Defn: An uncrystallizable alkaloid obtained by the action of heat from quinine, with which it is isomeric.

QUINIDINE Quin"i*dine, n. (Chem.)

Defn: An alkaloid isomeric with, and resembling, quinine, found in certain species of cinchona, from which it is extracted as a bitter white crystalline substance; conchinine. It is used somewhat as a febrifuge. [Written also chinidine.]

QUININE Qui"nine, n. Etym: [F. (cf. Sp. quinina), fr. Sp. quina, or quinaquina, Peruvian bark, fr. Peruv. kina, quina, bark. Cf. Kinic.] (Chem.)

Defn: An alkaloid extracted from the bark of several species of cinchona (esp. Cinchona Calisaya) as a bitter white crystalline substance, C20H24N2O2. Hence, by extension (Med.), any of the salts of this alkaloid, as the acetate, chloride, sulphate, etc., employed as a febrifuge or antiperiodic. Called also quinia, quinina, etc. [Written also chinine.]

QUININIC Qui*nin"ic, a. (Chem.)

Defn: Pertaining to, or designating, a nitrogenous acid obtained as a yellow crystalline substance by the oxidation of quinine.

QUININISM; QUINISM Qui"nin*ism, Qui"nism, n. (Med.)

Defn: See Cinchonism.

QUINIZARIN Qui*niz"a*rin, Etym: [Hydroquinone + alizarin.] (Chem.)

Defn: A yellow crystalline substance produced artificially. It is isomeric with alizarin.

QUINIZINE Quin"i*zine, n. Etym: [Quinoline + hydrazine.] (Chem.)

Defn: any one of a series of nitrogenous bases, certain of which are used as antipyretics.

QUINNAT Quin"nat, n. Etym: [From the native name.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: The California salmon (Oncorhynchus choicha); -- called also chouicha, king salmon, chinnook salmon, and Sacramento salmon. It is of great commercial importance. [Written also quinnet.]

QUINOA Qui*no"a, n.

Defn: The seeds of a kind of goosewort (Chenopodium Quinoa), used in Chili and Peru for making porridge or cakes; also, food thus made.

QUINOGEN Quin"o*gen, n. Etym: [Quinine + -gen.] (Chem.)

Defn: A hypothetical radical of quinine and related alkaloids.

QUINOIDINE Qui*noid"ine, n. Etym: [Quinine + -oid.] (Med. (Chem.)

Defn: A brownish resinous substance obtained as a by-product in the treatment of cinchona bark. It consists of a mixture of several alkaloids. [Written also chinoidine.]

QUINOLINE Quin"o*line, n. Etym: [Quinine + L. oleum oil + -ine.] (Chem.)

Defn: A nitrogenous base, C9H7N obtained as a pungent colorless liquid by the distillation of alkaloids, bones, coal tar, etc. It the nucleus of many organic bodies, especially of certain alkaloids and related substances; hence, by extension, any one of the series of alkaloidal bases of which quinoline proper is the type. [Written also chinoline.]

QUINOLOGIST Qui*nol"o*gist n.

Defn: One who is versed in quinology.

QUINOLOGY Qui*nol"o*gy, n. Etym: [Quinine + -logy.]

Defn: The science which treats of the cultivation of the cinchona, and of its use in medicine.

QUINONE Qui"none, n. Etym: [Quinine + ketone.] (Chem.)

Defn: A crystalline substance, C6H4O2 (called also benzoketone), first obtained by the oxidation of quinic acid and regarded as a double ketone; also, by extension, any one of the series of which quinone proper is the type. [Written also chinone, kinone.]

QUINOVIC Qui*no"vic, a. (Chem.)

Defn: Pertaining to, or designating, a crystalline acid obtained from some varieties of cinchona bark. [Written also chinovic, and kinovic.]

QUINOVIN Qui*no"vin, n. Etym: [NL. quina nova the tree Cosmibuena magnifolia, whose bark yields quinovin.] (Chem.)

Defn: An amorphous bitter glucoside derived from cinchona and other barks. Called also quinova bitter, and quinova. [Written also chinovin, and kinovin.]

QUINOXALINE Quin*ox"a*line, n. Etym: [Quinoline + glyoxal.] (Chem.)

Defn: Any one of a series of complex nitrogenous bases obtained by the union of certain aniline derivatives with glyoxal or with certain ketones. [Written also chinoxaline.]

QUINOXYL Quin*ox"yl, n. Etym: [Quinone + oxygen + -yl.] (Chem.)

Defn: The hypothetical radical of certain quinone derivatives related to rhodizonic acid.

QUINOYL Qui"noyl, n. Etym: [Quinone + -yl.] (Chem.)

Defn: A radical of which quinone is the hydride, analogous to phenyl. [Written also kinoyl.]

QUINQUAGESIMA Quin`qua*ges"i*ma, a. Etym: [L., fr. quinquagesimus the fiftieth, akin to quinquaginta fifty, quinque five. See Five.]

Defn: Fiftieth. Quinquagesima Sunday, the Sunday which is the fiftieth day before Easter, both days being included in the reckoning; -- called also Shrove Sunday.

QUINQUANGULAR Quin*quan"gu*lar, a. Etym: [L. quinquanqulus; quinque five + angulus ad angle: cf. F. quinquangulaire.]

Defn: Having five angles or corners.

QUINQUARTICULAR Quin`quar*tic"u*lar, a. Etym: [Quinque- + article.] (Theol.)

Defn: Relating to the five articles or points; as, the quinquarticular controversy between Arminians and Calvinists. [Obs.] Bp. Sanderson.

QUINQUE- Quin"que-. Etym: [L. quinque five. See Five.]

Defn: A combining form meaning five, five times, fivefold; as, quinquefid, five-cleft; quinquedentate, five-toothed.

QUINQUEANGLED Quin"que*an`gled, a. Etym: [Quinque- + angle.]

Defn: Having five angles; quinquangular.

QUINQUEDENTATE; QUINQUEDENTATED Quin`que*den"tate, Quin`que*den"ta*ted, a. Etym: [Quinque- + dentate, -tated: cf. F. quinquédenté.]

Defn: Five-toothed; as, a quinquedentate leaf.

QUINQUEFARIOUS Quin`que*fa"ri*ous, a. Etym: [From L. quinque five: cf. F. quinquéfarié. Cf. Bifarious.] (Bot.)

Defn: Arranged in five vertical rows; pentastichous. Gray.

QUINQUEFID Quin"que*fid, a. Etym: [Quique- + the root of L. findere to cleave: cf. F. quinquéfide.] (Bot.)

Defn: Sharply cut about halfway to the middle or base into five segments; as, a quinquefid leaf or corolla.

QUINQUEFOLIATE; QUINQUEFOLIATED Quin`que*fo"li*ate, Quin`que*fo"li*a`ted, a. Etym: [Quinque- + foliate, -ated: cf. F. quinquéfolié, L. quinquefolius.] (Bot.)

Defn: Having five leaves or leaflets. Gray.

QUINQUE FOLIOLATE Quin`que fo"li*o*late, a. (Bot.)

Defn: Having five leaflets. Gray.

QUINQUELITERAL Quin`que*lit"er*al, a. Etym: [Quinque- + literal.]

Defn: Consisting of five letters.

QUINQUELOBATE; QUINQUELOBARED Quin`que*lo"bate, Quin`que*lo"ba*red, a. Etym: [Quinque- + lobate, - ated: cf. F. quinquélobé.]

Defn: Cut less than halfway into portions, usually somewhat rounded; five-lobed; as, a quinquelobate leaf or corolla.

QUINQUELOBED Quin"que*lobed`, a. Etym: [Quinque- + lobe.]

Defn: Same as Quinquelobate.

QUINQUELOCULAR Quin`que*loc"u*lar, a. Etym: [Quinque- + locular: cf. F. quinquéloculaire.]

Defn: Having five cells or loculi; five-celled; as, a quinquelocular pericarp.

QUINQUENERVED Quin"que*nerved`, a. Etym: [Quinque- + nerve.] (Bot.)

Defn: Having five nerves; -- said of a leaf with five nearly equal nerves or ribs rising from the end of the petiole.

QUINQUENNALIA Quin`quen*na"li*a, n. pl. Etym: [L., fr. quinquennalis. See Ouinquennial.] (Rom. Antiq.)

Defn: Public games celebrated every five years.

QUINQUENNIAL Quin*quen"ni*al, a. Etym: [L. quinquennalis and quinquennis; quinque five + annus year. See Five, and cf. Biennial.]

Defn: Occurring once in five years, or at the end of every five years; also, lasting five years. A quinquennial event.

QUINQUENNIUM Quin*quen"ni*um, n. Etym: [L.]

Defn: Space of five years.

QUINQUEPARTITE Quin*quep"ar*tite, a. Etym: [L. quinquepartitus; quinque five + partitus, p. p. of partire to divide: cf. F. quinquépartite.]

1. Consisting of five parts.

2. (Bot.)

Defn: Divided into five parts almost to the base.

QUINQUEREME Quin"que*reme, n. Etym: [L. quinqueremis; quinque five + remus an oar: cf. F. quinquérème]

Defn: A galley having five benches or banks of oars; as, an Athenian quinquereme.

QUINQUESYLLABLE Quin"que*syl`la*ble, n. Etym: [Quinque- + syllable.]

Defn: A word of five syllables.

QUINQUEVALVE; QUINQUEVALVULAR Quin"que*valve, Quin`que*val"vu*lar, a. Etym: [Quinque- + valve, valvular: cf. F. quinquévalve.] (Bot.)

Defn: Having five valves, as a pericarp.

QUINQUEVIR Quin"que*vir, n.; pl; E. Quinquevirs, L. Quinqueviri. Etym: [L., fr. quinque Five + vir man.] (Bot. Antiq.)

Defn: One of five commissioners appointed for some special object.

QUINQUINA Quin*qui"na, n. Etym: [NL. & F. See Quinine.]

Defn: Peruvian bark.

QUINQUIVALENT Quin*quiv"a*lent, a. Etym: [Quinque- + L. valens, -entis, p. pr. See Valence.] (Chem.)

Defn: Same as Pentavalent.

QUINSY Quin"sy, n. Etym: [Contr. fr. squinancy, F. esquinancie, L. cynanche a sort of sore throat, Gr. synanche sore throat, Gr. Hound, Anger, and Cynanche.] (Med.)

Defn: An inflammation of the throat, or parts adjacent, especially of the fauces or tonsils, attended by considerable swelling, painful and impeded deglutition, and accompanied by inflammatory fever. It sometimes creates danger of suffocation; -- called also squinancy, and squinzey.

QUINT Quint, n. Etym: [F. quinte, fr. L. quintus, quinta, the fifth, quinque five. See Five.]

1. A set or sequence of five, as in piquet.

2. (Mus.)

Defn: The interval of a fifth.

QUINTAIN Quin"tain, n. Etym: [F. quintaine, LL. quintana; cf. W. chwintan a kind of hymeneal game.]

Defn: An object to be tilted at; -- called also quintel. [Written also quintin.]

Note: A common form in the Middle Ages was an upright post, on the top of which turned a crosspiece, having on one end a broad board, and on the other a sand bag. The endeavor was to strike the board with the lance while riding under, and get away without being hit by the sand bag. "But a quintain, a mere lifeless block." Shak.

QUINTAL Quin"tal, n. Etym: [F., fr. Sp. quintal, fr. Ar. qintar a weight of 100 lbs., prob. fr. L. centenarius consisting of a hundred, fr. centeni a hundred each, fr. centum a hundred. See Hundred, and cf. Kentle.]

1. A hundredweight, either 112 or 100 pounds, according to the scale used. Cf. Cental. [Sometimes written and pronounced kentle.]

2. A metric measure of weight, being 100,000 grams, or 100 kilograms, equal to 220.46 pounds avoirdupois.

QUINTAN Quin"tan, a. Etym: [L. quintanus, fr. quintus fifth, quinque five. See Five.]

Defn: Occurring as the fifth, after four others also, occurring every fifth day, reckoning inclusively; as, a quintan fever. -- n. (Med.)

Defn: An intermittent fever which returns every fifth day, reckoning inclusively, or in which the intermission lasts three days.

QUINTEL Quin"tel, n.

Defn: See Quintain.

QUINTESSENCE Quin*tes"sence, n. Etym: [F., fr. L. quinta essentia fifth essence. See Quint, and Essence.]

1. The fifth or last and highest essence or power in a natural body. See Ferment oils, under Ferment. [Obs.]

Note: The ancient Greeks recognized four elements, fire, air, water, and earth. The Pythagoreans added a fifth and called it nether, the fifth essence, which they said flew upward at creation and out of it the stars were made. The alchemists sometimes considered alcohol, or the ferment oils, as the fifth essence.

2. Hence: An extract from anything, containing its rarest virtue, or most subtle and essential constituent in a small quantity; pure or concentrated essence. Let there be light, said God; and forthwith light Ethereal, first of things, quintessence pure, Sprung from the deep. Milton.

QUINTESSENCE Quin*tes"sence, v. t.

Defn: To distil or extract as a quintessence; to reduce to a quintessence. [R.] Stirling. "Truth quintessenced and raised to the highest power." J. A. Symonds.

QUINTESSENTIAL Quin`tes*sen"tial, a.

Defn: Of the nature of a quintessence; purest. "Quintessential extract of mediocrity." G. Eliot.

QUINTET; QUINTETTE Quin*tet", Quin*tette", n. Etym: [It. quintetto, dim. of quinto the fifth, a fifth part, from L. quintus the fifth: cf. F. quintette. See Quint.] (Mus.)

Defn: A composition for five voices or instruments; also, the set of five persons who sing or play five-part music.

QUINTIC Quin"tic, a. Etym: [L. quintus fifth, fr. quinque five.] (Alg.)

Defn: Of the fifth degree or order. -- n. (Alg.)

Defn: A quantic of the fifth degree. See Quantic.

QUINTILE Quin"tile, n. Etym: [F. quintil aspect, fr. L. quintus the fifth.] (Astron.)

Defn: The aspect of planets when separated the fifth part of the zodiac, or 72º. Hutton.

QUINTILLLION Quin*till"lion, n. Etym: [Formed fr. L. quintus the fifth, after the analogy of million: cf. F. quintillion. See Quint.]

Defn: According to the French notation, which is used on the Continent and in America, the cube of a million, or a unit with eighteen ciphers annexed; according to the English notation, a number produced by involving a million to the fifth power, or a unit with thirty ciphers annexed. See the Note under Numeration.

QUINTIN Quin"tin, n.

Defn: See Quintain.

QUINTINE Quin"tine, n. Etym: [L. quintus the fifth: cf. F. quintine.] (Bot.)

Defn: The embryonic sac of an ovule, sometimes regarded as an innermost fifth integument. Cf. Quartine, and Tercine.

QUINTOLE Quin"tole, n. Etym: [It. quinto fifth.] (Mus.)

Defn: A group of five notes to be played or sung in the time of four of the same species.

QUINTROON Quin*troon", n. [Sp. quinteron the off-spring of a quadroon and a white.] (Ethnol.)

Defn: The off-spring of an octoroon and a white person.

QUINTUPLE Quin"tu*ple, a. Etym: [L. quintus fifth: cf. F. quintuple, L. quintuplex. Cf. Quadruple.]

Defn: Multiplied by five; increased to five times the amount; fivefold. Quintuple time (Mus.), a time having five beats in a measure. It is seldom used.

QUINTUPLE Quin"tu*ple, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Quintupled; p. pr. & vb. n. Quintupling.] Etym: [Cf. F. quintupler.]

Defn: To make fivefold, or five times as much or many.

QUINTUPLE-NERVED; QUINTUPLE-RIBBED Quin"tu*ple-nerved`, Quin"tu*ple-ribbed`, a. (Bot.)

Defn: The same as Quinquenerved.

QUINTUPLET Quin"tu*plet, n. [From Quintuple.]

1. A collection or combination of five of a kind.

2. pl. Five children born in the same labor.

3. (Mus.) A group of five connected notes; a turn of five notes.

4. A cycle having five crank shafts and adapted for five riders, all of whom can assist in the propulsion.

QUINZAINE Quin"zaine, n. Etym: [F., from quinze fifteen, L. quindecim. See Fifteen.]

Defn: The fifteenth day after a feast day, including both in the reckoning. [Written also quinzain.]

QUINZE Quinze, n. Etym: [F.]

Defn: A game at cards in which the object is to make fifteen points.

QUIP Quip, n. Etym: [Cf. W. chwip a quick flirt or turn, chwipio to whip, to move briskly, and E. whip. Cf. Quib, Quibble.]

Defn: A smart, sarcastic turn or jest; a taunt; a severe retort; a gibe. Quips, and cranks, and wanton wiles. Milton. He was full of joke and jest, But all his merry quips are o'er. Tennyson.

QUIP Quip, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Quipped; p. pr. & vb. n. Quipping.]

Defn: To taunt; to treat with quips. The more he laughs, and does her closely quip. Spenser.

QUIP Quip, v. i.

Defn: To scoff; to use taunts. Sir H. Sidney.

QUIPO Qui"po, n.

Defn: Same as Quipu.

QUIPU Qui"pu, n.; pl. Quipus. Etym: [Peruv.quipu a knot.]

Defn: A contrivance employed by the ancient Peruvians, Mexicans, etc., as a substitute for writing and figures, consisting of a main cord, from which hung at certain distances smaller cords of various colors, each having a special meaning, as silver, gold, corn, soldiers. etc. Single, double, and triple knots were tied in the smaller cords, representing definite numbers. It was chiefly used for arithmetical purposes, and to register important facts and events. [Written also quipo.] Tylor. The mysterious science of the quipus . . . supplied the Peruvians with the means of communicating their ideas to one another, and of transmitting them to future generations. Prescott.

QUIRBOILLY Quir"boil*ly`, n. Etym: [OE. cuir bouilli.]

Defn: Leather softened by boiling so as to take any required shape. Upon drying, it becomes exceedingly hard, and hence was formerly used for armor. [Obs.] "His jambeux were of quyrboilly." Chaucer.

QUIRE Quire, n.

Defn: See Choir. [Obs.] Spenser. A quire of such enticing birds. Shak.

QUIRE Quire, v. i.

Defn: To sing in concert. [R.] Shak.

QUIRE Quire, n. Etym: [OE. quaer, quair, OF. quayer, cayer, caïer, F. cahier, a book of loose sheets, a quarter of a quire, LL. quaternus, quaternum, sheets of paper packed together, properly, four together, fr. L. quaterni four each, by fours, quattuor, four. See Four and cf. Cahier.]

Defn: A collection of twenty-four sheets of paper of the same size and quality, unfolded or having a single fold; one twentieth of a ream.

QUIRINAL Quir"i*nal, a. [L. Quirinals, fr. Quirinus, a name of Romulus.]

Defn: Of, pertaining to, or designating, the hill Collis Quirinalis, now Monte Quirinale (one of the seven hills of Rome), or a modern royal place situated upon it. Also used substantively.

QUIRISTER Quir"is*ter, n. Etym: [See Quire, Chorister.]

Defn: A chorister. See Chorister. [R.] Thomson.

QUIRITATION Quir`i*ta"tion, n. Etym: [L. quiritatio, fr. quiritare to raise a plaintive cry, v. freq. fr. queri to complain.]

Defn: A crying for help. [Obs.] Bp. Hall.

QUIRITE Qui"rite, n.

Defn: One of the Quirites.

QUIRITES Qui*ri"tes, n. pl. Etym: [L., fr. Cures, a Sabine town.] (Rom. Antiq.)

Defn: Roman citizens.

Note: After the Sabines and Romans had united themselves into one community, under Romulus, the name of Quirites was taken in addition to that of Romani, the Romans calling themselves in a civil capacity Quirites, while in a political and military capacity they retained the name of Romani. Andrews.

QUIRK Quirk, n. [Written also querk.] Etym: [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)

Defn: 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.)

Defn: 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.

QUIRKED Quirked, a.

Defn: Having, or formed with, a quirk or quirks.

QUIRKISH Quirk"ish

Defn: , Consisting of quirks; resembling a quirk. Barrow.

QUIRKY Quirk"y, a.

Defn: Full of quirks; tricky; as, a quirky lawyer.

QUIRL Quirl, n. & v.

Defn: See Querl.

QUIRPELE Quir"pele, n. Etym: [Tamil kirippillai.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: The Indian ferret.

QUIRT Quirt, n.

Defn: A rawhide whip plaited with two thongs of buffalo hide T. Roosevelt.

QUISH Quish, n.

Defn: See Cuish.

QUIT Quit, n. (Zoöl.)

Defn: Any one of numerous species of small passerine birds native of tropical America. See Banana quit, under Banana, and Guitguit.

QUIT Quit, a. Etym: [OE. quite, OF. quite, F. quitte. See Quit, v., Quirt.]

Defn: Released from obligation, charge, penalty, etc.; free; clear; absolved; acquitted. Chaucer. The owner of the ox shall be quit. Ex. xxi. 28.

Note: This word is sometimes used in the form quits, colloquially; as, to be quits with one, that is, to have made mutual satisfaction of demands with him; to be even with him; hence, as an exclamation: Quits! we are even, or on equal terms. "To cry quits with the commons in their complaints." Fuller.

QUIT Quit, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Quit or Quitted; p. pr. & vb. n. Quitting.] Etym: [OE. quiten, OF. quiter, quitier, cuitier, F. quitter, to acquit, quit, LL. quietare, fr. L. quietare to calm, to quiet, fr. quietus quiet. See Quiet, a., and cf. Quit, a., Quite, Acquit, Requite.]

1. To set at rest; to free, as from anything harmful or oppressive; to relieve; to clear; to liberate. [R.] To quit you of this fear, you have already looked Death in the face; what have you found so terrible in it Wake.

2. To release from obligation, accusation, penalty, or the like; to absolve; to acquit. There may no gold them quyte. Chaucer. God will relent, and quit thee all his debt. Milton.

3. To discharge, as an obligation or duty; to meet and satisfy, as a claim or debt; to make payment for or of; to requite; to repay. The blissful martyr quyte you your meed. Chaucer. Enkindle all the sparks of nature To quit this horrid act. Shak. Before that judge that quits each soul his hire. Fairfax.

4. To meet the claims upon, or expectations entertained of; to conduct; to acquit; -- used reflexively. Be strong, and quit yourselves like men. I Sam. iv. 9. Samson hath guit himself Like Samson. Milton.

5. To carry through; to go through to the end. [Obs.] Never worthy prince a day did quit With greater hazard and with more renown. Daniel.

6. To have done with; to cease from; to stop; hence, to depart from; to leave; to forsake; as, to quit work; to quit the place; to quit jesting. Such a superficial way of examining is to quit truth for appearance. Locke. To quit cost, to pay; to reimburse. -- To quit scores, to make even; to clear mutually from demands. Does not the earth quit scores with all the elements in the noble fruits that issue from it South.

Syn. -- To leave; relinquish; resign; abandon; forsake; surrender; discharge; requite. -- Quit, Leave. Leave is a general term, signifying merely an act of departure; quit implies a going without intention of return, a final and absolute abandonment.

QUIT Quit, v. i.

Defn: To away; to depart; to stop doing a thing; to cease.

QUITCH Quitch, n.

1. (Bot.)

Defn: Same as Quitch grass.

2. Figuratively: A vice; a taint; an evil. To pick the vicious quitch Of blood and custom wholly out of him. Tennyson .

QUITCH GRASS Quitch" grass`. Etym: [Properly quick grass, being probably so called from its vigorous growth, or from its tenacity of life. See Quick, and cf. Couch grass.] (Bot.)

Defn: A perennial grass (Agropyrum repens) having long running rootstalks, by which it spreads rapidly and pertinaciously, and so becomes a troublesome weed. Also called couch grass, quick grass, quick grass, twitch grass. See Illustration in Appendix.

QUITCLAIM Quit"claim`, n. Etym: [Quit, a. + claim.] (Law)

Defn: A release or relinquishment of a claim; a deed of release; an instrument by which some right, title, interest, or claim, which one person has, or is supposed to have, in or to an estate held by himself or another, is released or relinquished, the grantor generally covenanting only against persons who claim under himself.

QUITCLAIM Quit"claim`, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Quitclaimed; p. pr. & vb. n. Quitclaiming.] (Law)

Defn: To release or relinquish a claim to; to release a claim to by deed, without covenants of warranty against adverse and paramount titles.

QUITE Quite, v. t. & i.

Defn: See Quit. [Obs.] Chaucer.

QUITE Quite, adv. Etym: [F. quite discharged, free, clear; cf. OF. quitement freely, frankly, entirely. See Quit, a.]

1. Completely; wholly; entirely; totally; perfectly; as, the work is not quite done; the object is quite accomplished; to be quite mistaken. Man shall not quite be lost, but saved who will. Milton. The same actions may be aimed at different ends, and arise from quite contrary principles. Spectator.

2. To a great extent or degree; very; very much; considerably. "Quite amusing." Macaulay. He really looks quite concerned. Landor. The island stretches along the land and is quite close to it. Jowett (Thucyd. ).

QUITLY Quit"ly, adv.

Defn: Quite. [Obs.] Chaucer.

QUITRENT Quit"rent`, n. Etym: [Quit, a. + rent] (Law)

Defn: A rent reserved in grants of land, by the payment of which the tenant is quit from other service. Blackstone.

Note: In some of the United States a fee-farm rent is so termed. Burrill.

QUITS Quits interj.

Defn: See the Note under Quit, a.

QUITTABLE Quit"ta*ble, a.

Defn: Capable of being quitted.

QUITTAL Quit"tal, n.

Defn: Return; requital; quittance. [Obs.]

QUITTANCE Quit"tance, n. Etym: [OE. quitaunce, OF. quitance, F. quittance. See Quit, v. t.]

1. Discharge from a debt or an obligation; acquittance. Omittance is no quittance. Shak.

2. Recompense; return; repayment. [Obs.] Shak.

QUITTANCE Quit"tance, v. t.

Defn: To repay; to requite. [Obs.] Shak.

QUITTER Quit"ter, n.

1. One who quits.

2. A deliverer. [Obs.] Ainsworth.

QUITTOR Quit"tor, n. Etym: [Perhaps for quitture.] (Far.)

Defn: A chronic abscess, or fistula of the coronet, in a horse's foot, resulting from inflammation of the tissues investing the coffin bone.

QUITTURE Quit"ture, n.

Defn: A discharge; an issue. [Obs.] To cleanse the quitture from thy wound. Chapman.

QUIVER Quiv"er, a. Etym: [Akin to AS. cwiferlice anxiously; cf. OD. kuiven, kuiveren. Cf. Quaver.]

Defn: Nimble; active. [Obs.] " A little quiver fellow." Shak.

QUIVER Quiv"er, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Quivered; p. pr. & vb. n. Quivering.] Etym: [Cf. Quaver.]

Defn: To shake or move with slight and tremulous motion; to tremble; to quake; to shudder; to shiver. The green leaves quiver with the cooling wind. Shak. And left the limbs still quivering on the ground. Addison.

QUIVER Quiv"er, n.

Defn: The act or state of quivering; a tremor.

QUIVER Quiv"er, n. Etym: [OF. cuivre, cuevre, coivre, LL. cucurum, fr. OHG. chohhari quiver, receptacle, G. köcher quiver; akin to AS. color, cocur, cocer, D. koker. Cf. Cocker a high shoe.]

Defn: A case or sheath for arrows to be carried on the person. Reside him hung his bow And quiver, with three-bolted thunder stored. Milton.

QUIVERED Quiv"ered, a.

1. Furnished with, or carrying, a quiver. "Like a quivered nymph with arrows keen." Milton.

2. Sheathed, as in a quiver. "Whose quills stand quivered at his ear." Pope.

QUIVERINGLY Quiv"er*ing*ly, adv.

Defn: With quivering motion.

QUI VIVE Qui` vive". Etym: [F., fr. qui who + vive, pres. subj. of vivre to live.]