Webster's Dictionary, 1913
Quinquelobed adjective [
Quinque- +
lobe .]
Same as Quinquelobate .
Quinquelocular adjective [ Quinque- + locular : confer French quinquéloculaire .] Having five cells or loculi; five-celled; as, a quinquelocular pericarp.
Quinquenerved adjective [ Quinque- + nerve .] (Botany) Having five nerves; -- said of a leaf with five nearly equal nerves or ribs rising from the end of the petiole.
Quinquennalia noun plural [ Latin , from
quinquennalis . See
Ouinquennial .]
(Rom. Antiq.) Public games celebrated every five years.
Quinquennial adjective [ Latin
quinquennalis and
quinquennis ;
quinque five +
annus year. See
Five ,
and cf .
Biennial .]
Occurring once in five years, or at the end of every five years; also, lasting five years. A quinquennial event.
Quinquennium noun [ Latin ] Space of five years.
Quinquepartite adjective [ Latin quinquepartitus ; quinque five + partitus , past participle of partire to divide: confer French quinquépartite .]
1. Consisting of five parts. 2. (Botany) Divided into five parts almost to the base.
Quinquereme noun [ Latin quinqueremis ; quinque five + remus an oar: confer French quinquérème ] A galley having five benches or banks of oars; as, an Athenian quinquereme .
Quinquesyllable noun [ Quinque- + syllable .] A word of five syllables.
Quinquevalve, Quinquevalvular adjective [ Quinque- + valve , valvular : confer French quinquévalve .] (Botany) Having five valves, as a pericarp.
Quinquevir noun ; pl; English
Quinquevirs , Latin
Quinqueviri . [ Latin , from
quinque Five +
vir man.]
(Bot. Antiq.) One of five commissioners appointed for some special object.
Quinquina noun [ New Latin & F. See
Quinine .]
Peruvian bark.
Quinquivalent adjective [
Quinque- + Latin
valens ,
-entis , present participle See
Valence .]
(Chemistry) Same as Pentavalent .
Quinsy noun [ Contr. from
squinancy , French
esquinancie , Latin
cynanche a sort of sore throat, Greek ... sore throat, dog quinsy, from ... dog + ... to choke; confer also Latin
synanche sore throat, Greek .... Confer
Hound ,
Anger , and
Cynanche .]
(Medicine) 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 noun [ French
quinte , from Latin
quintus ,
quinta , the fifth,
quinque five. See
Five .]
1. A set or sequence of five, as in piquet. 2. (Mus.) The interval of a fifth.
Quintain noun [ French quintaine , Late Latin quintana ; confer W. chwintan a kind of hymeneal game.] An object to be tilted at; -- called also quintel . [ Written also quintin .] » 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 noun [ French, from Spanish
quintal , from Arabic
qintar a weight of 100 lbs., probably from Latin
centenarius consisting of a hundred, from
centeni a hundred each, from
centum a hundred. See
Hundred , and confer
Kentle .]
1. A hundredweight, either 112 or 100 pounds, according to the scale used. Confer 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 adjective [ Latin
quintanus , from
quintus fifth,
quinque five. See
Five .]
Occurring as the fifth, after four others also, occurring every fifth day, reckoning inclusively; as, a quintan fever. --
noun (Medicine) An intermittent fever which returns every fifth day, reckoning inclusively, or in which the intermission lasts three days.
Quintessence noun [ French, from Latin
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 . [ Obsolete] » 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 transitive verb 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 adjective Of the nature of a quintessence; purest. " Quintessential extract of mediocrity." G. Eliot.
Quintet, Quintette noun [ Italian
quintetto , dim. of
quinto the fifth, a fifth part, from Latin
quintus the fifth: confer French
quintette . See
Quint .]
(Mus.) A composition for five voices or instruments; also, the set of five persons who sing or play five-part music.
Quintic adjective [ Latin
quintus fifth, from
quinque five.]
(Alg.) Of the fifth degree or order. --
noun (Alg.) A quantic of the fifth degree. See Quantic .
Quintile noun [ French quintil aspect , from Latin quintus the fifth.] (Astron.) The aspect of planets when separated the fifth part of the zodiac, or 72°. Hutton.
Quintilllion noun [ Formed from Latin
quintus the fifth, after the analogy of
million : confer French
quintillion . See
Quint .]
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 .
Quintine noun [ Latin
quintus the fifth: confer French
quintine .]
(Botany) The embryonic sac of an ovule, sometimes regarded as an innermost fifth integument. Confer Quartine , and Tercine .
Quintole noun [ Italian quinto fifth.] (Mus.) A group of five notes to be played or sung in the time of four of the same species.
Quintroon noun [ Spanish quinteron the off-spring of a quadroon and a white.] (Ethnol.) The off-spring of an octoroon and a white person.
Quintuple adjective [ Latin
quintus fifth: confer French
quintuple , Latin
quintuplex . Confer
Quadruple .]
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 transitive verb [
imperfect & past participle Quintupled ;
present participle & verbal noun Quintupling .] [ Confer French
quintupler .]
To make fivefold, or five times as much or many.
Quintuplet noun [ From
Quintuple .]
1. A collection or combination of five of a kind. 2. plural 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 noun [ French, from
quinze fifteen, Latin
quindecim . See
Fifteen .]
The fifteenth day after a feast day, including both in the reckoning. [ Written also
quinzain .]
Quinze noun [ French] A game at cards in which the object is to make fifteen points.
Quip noun [ Confer W.
chwip a quick flirt or turn,
chwipio to whip, to move briskly, and English
whip . Confer
Quib ,
Quibble .]
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 transitive verb [
imperfect & past participle Quipped ;
present participle & verbal noun Quipping .]
To taunt; to treat with quips. The more he laughs, and does her closely quip .
Spenser.
Quip intransitive verb To scoff; to use taunts. Sir H. Sidney.
Quipo noun Same as Quipu .
Quipu noun ;
plural Quipus . [ Peruv.
quipu a knot.]
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 (kwĭr"boi*lē`) noun [ Middle English cuir bouilli .] Leather softened by boiling so as to take any required shape. Upon drying, it becomes exceedingly hard, and hence was formerly used for armor. [ Obsolete] "His jambeux were of quyrboilly ." Chaucer.
Quire (kwīr)
noun See Choir . [ Obsolete]
Spenser. A quire of such enticing birds.
Shak.
Quire intransitive verb To sing in concert. [ R.] Shak.
Quire (kwīr)
noun [ Middle English
quaer ,
quair , Old French
quayer ,
cayer ,
caïer , French
cahier , a book of loose sheets, a quarter of a quire, Late Latin
quaternus ,
quaternum , sheets of paper packed together, properly, four together, from Latin
quaterni four each, by fours,
quattuor four. See
Four , and confer
Cahier .]
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 adjective [ Latin Quirinals , from Quirinus , a name of Romulus.] 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.
Quiritation (kwĭr`ĭ*tā"shŭn) noun [ Latin quiritatio , from quiritare to raise a plaintive cry, v. freq. from queri to complain.] A crying for help. [ Obsolete] Bp. Hall.
Quirite (kwī"rīt) noun One of the Quirites.
Quirites (kwĭ*rī"tēz) noun plural [ Latin , from Cures , a Sabine town.] (Rom. Antiq.) Roman citizens. » 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 (kwẽrk)
noun [ Written also
querk .] [ Confer W.
chwiori to turn briskly, or English
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. [ Obsolete] "
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. (Architecture) 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.