Questman Quest"man noun ; plural Questmen 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. [ Obsolete] (b) A collector of parish rents. Blount. [ Obsolete]

Questmonger Quest"mon`ger noun One who lays informations, and encourages petty lawsuits. [ Obsolete] Bacon.

Questor Ques"tor noun [ Latin quaestor , contr. from quaesitor , from quaerere , quaesitum , to seek for, ask: confer French questeur .] (Rom. Antiq.) An officer who had the management of the public treasure; a receiver of taxes, tribute, etc.; treasurer of state. [ Written also quæstor .] » At an early period there were also public accusers styled questors , but the office was soon abolished.

Questorship Ques"tor·ship noun The office, or the term of office, of a questor.

Questrist Quest"rist noun [ See Quest .] A seeker; a pursuer. [ Obsolete] "Hot questrists after him." Shak.

Questuary Ques"tu·a·ry adjective [ Latin quaestuarius , from quaestus gain, profit, quaerere , quaesitum , to seek for, earn.] Studious of profit. [ Obsolete] Sir T. Browne.

Questuary Ques"tu·a·ry noun One employed to collect profits. [ R.] "The pope's questuaries ." Jer. Taylor.

Quet Quet noun (Zoology) The common guillemot. [ Prov. Eng.]

Queue Queue noun [ French See Cue .] (a) A tail-like appendage of hair; a pigtail. (b) A line of persons waiting anywhere.

Queue Queue transitive verb To fasten, as hair, in a queue.

Quey Quey noun [ Confer Danish qvie .] A heifer. [ Scot.]

Qui vive Qui` vive" (ke` vev"). [ French, from qui who + vive , present subjunctive of vivre to live.] The challenge of a French sentinel, or patrol; -- used like the English challenge: "Who comes there?" To be on the qui vive , to be on guard; to be watchful and alert, like a sentinel.

Quib Quib noun [ Confer Quip .] A quip; a gibe.

Quibble Quib"ble noun [ Probably from 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 intransitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Quibbled ; present participle & verbal noun 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 noun One who quibbles; a caviler; also, a punster.

Quibblingly Quib"bling·ly adverb Triflingly; evasively.

Quica Qui"ca noun [ From the native Brazilian name.] (Zoology) A small South American opossum ( Didelphys quica ), native of Guiana and Brazil. It feeds upon insects, small birds, and fruit.

Quice Quice noun (Zoology) See Queest .

Quich Quich intransitive verb [ Confer Quinch .] To stir. [ Obsolete]

He could not move nor quich at all.

Spenser.

Quichuan Qui"chuan adjective 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 adjective [ Compar. Quicker ; superl. Quickest .] [ As. cwic , cwicu , cwucu , cucu , living; akin to Old Saxon quik , Dutch kwik , Old High German quec , chec , German keck bold, lively, Icelandic kvikr living, Goth. qius , Lithuanian qȳvas , Russian zhivoi , Latin vivus living, vivere to live, Greek bi`os life, Sanskrit jīva living, jīv to live. Confer 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. » 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 . (Botany) 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 adverb 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 noun 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. (Botany) Quitch grass. Tennyson.

Quick Quick transitive verb & i. [ See Quicken .] To revive; to quicken; to be or become alive. [ Obsolete] Chaucer.

Quick-scented Quick"-scent`ed adjective Acute of smell.

Quick-sighted Quick"-sight`ed adjective Having quick sight or acute discernment; quick to see or to discern. Locke. -- Quick"-sight`ed*ness , noun

Quick-witted Quick"-wit`ted adjective Having ready wit Shak.

Quick-wittedness Quick"-wit`ted·ness noun Readiness of wit. "Celtic quick-wittedness ." M. Arnold.

Quickbeam Quick"beam` noun [ A. S. cwicbeám .] See Quicken tree .

Quicken Quick"en transitive verb [ imperfect & past participle quickened ; present participle & verbal noun Quickening .] [ Anglo-Saxon cwician . See Quick , adjective ] 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) 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 intransitive verb 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 .

Quicken tree Quick"en tree` [ Probably from quick , and first applied to the aspen or some tree with quivering leaves; confer German quickenbaum , quizenbaum , quitschenbaum . Confer Quitch grass .] (Botany) The European rowan tree; -- called also quickbeam , and quickenbeam . See Rowan tree .

Quickener Quick"en·er noun One who, or that which, quickens.

Quickening Quick"en·ing noun 1. The act or process of making or of becoming quick. 2. (Physiol.) 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 noun (Botany) Quitch grass.

Quickhatch Quick"hatch` noun [ From the American Indian name.] (Zoology) The wolverine.

Quicklime Quick"lime noun [ See Quick , adjective ] (Chemistry) Calcium oxide; unslacked lime; -- so called because when wet it develops great heat. See 4th Lime , 2.

Quickly Quick"ly adverb Speedily; with haste or celerity; soon; without delay; quick.

Quickness Quick"ness noun 1. The condition or quality of being quick or living; life. [ Obsolete]

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` noun 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.

Quickset Quick"set` noun A living plant set to grow, esp. when set for a hedge; specifically, the hawthorn.

Quickset Quick"set` adjective Made of quickset.

Dates and pomegranates on the quickset hedges.

Walpole.

Quickset Quick"set` transitive verb To plant with living shrubs or trees for a hedge; as, to quickset a ditch. Mortimer.

Quicksilver Quick"sil`ver noun [ Quick living + silver ; -- so called from its fluidity; confer German quecksilber , Latin argentum vivum . See Quick , adjective ] (Chemistry) 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 adjective Overlaid with quicksilver, or with an amalgam of quicksilver and tinfoil.

Quicksilvering Quick"sil`ver·ing noun The mercury and foil on the back of a looking-glass.

Quickstep Quick"step` noun (Mus.) A lively, spirited march; also, a lively style of dancing.

Quickwork Quick"work` noun (Nautical) 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 noun [ See Cud .] A portion suitable to be chewed; a cud; as, a quid of tobacco.