QUIRE. quaires lacked in theboke. 1613 Mem. St. Giles's, Durham (Suttees) 42 A quaire of paper for the use of the parishe. f. 1530 PALSGK. 164 Mayn, bothe for a hande and for a queare of paper. 1575 CHURCHYARD Chifpes (1817) 106 If heere I should all skirmishes . . expresse Of paper sure, a quere would not suffice. 1597 Br. HALL Sat. n. i. 10 Lo what it is that makes white rags so deare, That men must giue a teston for a queare. 1696 in Pall Mall G. (1889) 8 Jan. 7/2 A Queerof paper.. A Coppy <strong>Book</strong>e. 1815 BROCKETT N. C. Gloss., Queer, a quire of paper. >. 1497 Naval Ace. lien. VII (1896) 128, j reame & vij quires of small paper. 1560 Ludlow Churckw. Ace. (Camden) 96 A quyer of paper., \ii\d. 1589 Pappe w. Hatchet B, Heele spend alf he hath in a quire of paper. 1646 J. HALL Poems i How better were it for you to remain (Poore Quires) in ancient raggs. 1688 R. HOLME Armoury III. 120/1 Cassie Quires, are the two outside Quires in a Ream, called also Cording Quires. 1771 Juniut Lett. Ixviii. 354 He was . . charged for feloniously stealing eleven quires of writing paper. 1879 Print. Trades Jriil. No. 26. 20 The cost of paper from one quire to one ream. b. / quires : Unbound, in sheets. c 1480 Pastou Lett. III. 301 Item, in quayers, Tully de Senectute. Ibid., Item, in qwayers, a Boke de Sapiencia. 1549 Bk. Com. Prayer (Grafton) colophon, The Imprinter to sell this <strong>Book</strong>e in Queres for two shillynges and sixe pence. 1679 WOOD Life 10 Feb. (O. H. S.) II. 439. 1 8ave my book, .to the Heralds Office in quires. 1733 SWIFT On Poetry 144 Your poem sunk. And sent in quires to line a trunk. 1885 <strong>Book</strong>sellers Mar. 313 Advt., The valuable publication stock, in Cloth and Quires. fig. i8a GREW Anal. Plants Ep. Ded., So that a Plant is, as it were, an Animal in Quires. 1 2. A small pamphlet or book, consisting of a single quire; a short poem, treatise, etc., which is or might be contained in a quire. Obs. a 1225 Ancr. R. 248 peo ancre fet wernde anoSer a cwaer uorto Tenen. Ibid. 282 3if bu hauest knif ooer cloo ;; scrowe ooer quaer. c 1430 LYDC. Compl. Bl. Knt. xcvii, Go litel quayre, go unto my lyves queene. c 1430 Life St. Kath. (1884) i Ther was take to me a quayere. Where yn was drawe in to englesshe . . hire martirdom. c 1500 MS. Selden B. 24 If. 191 Heirefter followis the quair maid be King James of Scotland the first, callit the kingis quair. a 1529 SKELTON Sp. Parrot 280 Go litell quayre, namyd the Popagay. c 1535 FISHER Wks. (E.E.T.S.) 429 Who so euer ye be, y' shall fortune to rede this queare. 1570 FOXE A.
QUIRT. laid his quirt to the flanks of the mustang. 1888 [see QUIRT I..2J. 1894 Outing (U. S.) XXIV. 215/2 The spectators even went so far as to strike the bare backs of their favorites with quirts, or whips, to urge them on. t Quirt, v. 1 Obs. rare. Also 1 quurt. [Of obscure origin.] 1. trans. To block, fill, or stop up (an opening). 1587 FLEMING Contn. Holinshed\\\, 1009/1 The said earle . .did leuie and build a new weere in the said aperture .. stopping, filling, and quirting the same, with great trees, timber,and stones. 1602 CARE\vCVr7yrt/7 105 b, To let., three or foure shouels full of earth fall softly downe by the inner side of the floodgate, which will quurt vp his chinkes. 2. inlr. Of a river : To be dammed back. 1602 CARRW Cornwall 152 Under it runneth the river Lo, . . thwarted by a sandy banke, which forceth the same to quurt back a great way. Quirt (kwait), v.* U.S. [f. QUIRT sb.] trans. To strike with a quirt. 1888 TH. ROOSEVELT in Century Mag. Apr. 854 A firstclass rider will sit throughout it all . . quirting his horse all the time. . . Quirt is the name of the short flexible ridingwhip used throughout cowboy land. The term is a Spanish one. 1807 // 'estm. Gaz. 8 Oct. 2/1 One . . [horsej was 1 ' quirted raked and , ', nearly killed. Quirtayn, obs. f. COBTAIN. Quiry, var. querry, EQUERRY. Quis, obs. f. Quiz. Quisby (kwi'zbi).rf. slang. [Of obscure formation.] An idler. Doing quisby, not working. 1837 Fraser's Mag. XVI. 155 He eyes the twaddler who'd enjoin a halt, ., Hating .. a stop by such a quisby. 1851 MAVHEW Land. Labour III. 219 One morning, when we had been doing ' quisby ', that is, stopping idle. Quisby (kwi-zbi), a. slang, [cf. prec.] Queer, not quite right ; bankrupt. 1853 Household Wds. VIII. 75/2 To say that a man is without money, or in poverty, some persons remark that he is. .quisby, done up. 1854 Tait'sMag. XXI. 532 Larson is not so well as he should be rather quisby about the throat. 1892 Punch 12 Mar. 123/1 He's a-looking queer and quisby. Quischen, -on, etc., obs. forms of CUSHION. Quiseos(kos) : see QUISQUOSE. t Quish, obs. form of CUISSE. a 1548 HALL Chron., Hen. IV an. i (R.) One sort had the quisbes, the greues, the surlettes, y sockettes on the ryght side and on the left side sylver. 1557 GRIMALD Death Zoroas in Tottell's Misc. (Arb.) 122 Aboue the greaue, At tli' opening of his quishes. Quishan, -en, etc., obs. forms of CUSHION. Quisle, obs. form of WHISTLE v. 1 t Quisqui'lian, a. Obs. rare , [f. as next + -AN.] Quisquilious. So Quisqurliory a. 17x6 M. DAVIES^M?;/. Brit. II. 394 Miscreant quisquilian Scraps and Fragments. 1817 Blficfffw. Mag. I. 470 Those shallow and fidimplicitary coxcombs, who fill our too credulous ears with their quisquiliary deblaterations. Quisquilious (kwiskwi-liss), a. rare. [f. L. quisquilise f. pi., waste matter, refuse, rubbish, etc.] Of the nature of rubbish or refuse. 1802-11 BENTHAM Ration. Judic. Evid. (1827) IV. 412 The science is overloaded by the quisquilious matter they rake together. 41839 Deontol. (1834) I. 295 Dr. Priest- ley . . expunged what, in the quaint phraseology once in vogue, was called the ' quisquilious matter ', 1857 Fraser's fruit insects and worms, the Mag. LVI. 460 Besides garden Jay's diet is sufficiently quisquilious. Quisquose, -quous, a. Sc. Also 9 quis- oos(kos). [Of obscure origin.] Difficult to deal with or settle, ticklish, ' kittle '. 1710 Wodrow Corr. (1843) II. 485 Being biassed with his opinion in quisquose and difficult matters. 1721 WODROW Hist. Suffer. Ch. Scot. (1829) II. n. xiii. 499 The truths delivered by ministers.. on quisquous subjects. 1830 GALT LawrieT. iv. ix. (1849) 175 Your conduct this day has been very quiscos. 1836 in Tait's Mag. III. 33 The ladies maybe a wee quiscoskos in character. 1 t Quissers. Obs. rare , [a. OF. cuissere, -iere, f. cuisse = thigh.] CDISSE. 1330 Arth. t, Merl. 2076 (Kolbing) Helme & brini & hauberioun, Saumbers, quissers & aketoun. Quisshen, -in(g, quissin(g, -ion, -yn, obs. ff. CUSHION. Quiasonday, obs. f. WHITSUNDAY. t Quist, obs. variant of WHIST, silent. 1598 R. BERNARD tr. Terence 289 Quist, quist, what man art thou well in thy witts? Ibid. 310 He is quist. Quister, variant of WHITESTEB Obs. Quisteroun, obs. form of CUSTRON. t Quistounes, -sumnes. [Form and meaning uncertain ; the ref. is to the wheel of Fortune.] a 1400-50 Alexander 3303 Lo 1 so be quele of qwistsumnes my quahte has changid. Ibid. 4660 For so pe quele of qwistounes ;oure quahte encreses. Quistrel, variant of COISTBEL or CUSTBEL. Quistron, variant of CUSTBON. Quit (kwit), sb?- [Perh. imitative ; but Gosse suggests that it may be African.] The popular name of many small Jamaican birds. 1847 GOSSE Birds Jamaica 254 The name of Quit is applied without much discrimination by the negroes of Jamnica, to several small birds, such as the Banana Quit, which is a Creeper, and the Blue Quit, and Grass Quits which are finches. 1882- in OCILVIE and later Diets. 1804 NEWTON Diet. Birds 761. Quit (kwit), rf.2 rare. [f. QUIT .] A point ofaeparture. 1892 H. A. NEWTON in Astronomy fy Astrophysics Jan. 15 Of the 839 comets.. 267.. will have quits less than 45 from 71 Jupiter's quit, while 38 of them will have quits less than 45 from Jupiter's goal. Quit (kwit), f quite, a. Forms: a. 3 cwite, 3-6 quyt,(4 qw-),4-6 quyte, (4-5 qw-), 6 quight, 3-7 quite. 3. 4 kuytte, 5 quytt(e, qwytt, qw(h)itte,6quitt, 6-7 quitte, 3- quit, [(i) In the a-forms (ME. types guile, quit), a. OF. quite Pr. quiti, Sp. qtiito, med.L. quitus, unmolested, free, clear, etc., ad. L. quietus QUIET. Hence also OFris. guyt, qwyt (mod. quijt), MDu. quite, quijt (Du. kwijt), MLG. and MHG. quit (obs. G. queit}. (2) In the 0-forms (ME. types quitte, quit}, orig. a. OF. quitte, later form of quite : cf. med.L. quitlus, MHG. quit (G. quiti), ON. kvittr (Sw. qvitt, Da. kvit}. The pa. pple. of QUITE v. may also have contributed to the use of quit. Although there appears to be sufficient evidence for the existence in ME. of forms with a short vowel, clear instances are somewhat rare, as the spelling is often ambiguous or misleading, and the rimes usually show quite, quit. The exact range of?;/?/ is therefore uncertain until the ifith c., when its gradual supersession of quite is prob. connected with the similar change in the verb.] I. In predicative use. 1. Free, clear, (t Occas. qttite and clear, quite andfree.) To be quit for, to get off with, suffer nothing more than. a 1225 Ancr. R. 6 Sum. .mei ful wel beo cwite & paie god mid lesse. c 1275 Pass. Lord 310 in O. E. Misc. 46 Ye nelle^ . .lete me gon quite. Ibid. 370 Hit is eur kustume to habbe' quyt enne. c 1290 Beket 812 in S. Eng. Leg. I. 129 po was bis guode Man quit I-nov. c 1330 R. BRUNNE Chron. Wace (Rolls) 1224 pys were our most profit, Wib loue & leue he quebe vs quyt. c 1400 Yvjaine n Crt. q- Times Chas. /, I. 205 God . . to prosper what we undertake, we might, ere long, cry them quit. 1641 SMECTYMNUUS Vind. Answ. i. 5 If we would cry quit with the Remonstrant . . wee could tell him a Tul,:. QUIT. II. Attributive. 1 4. Clean, complete. Obs. rare. 1583 BABINCTON Commanam. viii. (1637) 73 To.. the quite marring of all her musicke. 1604 RUDD in Consid. Peace fy Goodiv, Prot. 7 If . . there cannot be obtained a quite removall of the Premises. lOO^TopSELLAowr-/ Be
- Page 1 and 2:
the seventeenth letter of the moder
- Page 3 and 4:
QtTACKSALVING. QUADRANGLE. drugs. 1
- Page 5 and 6:
QTJADRANTILE. meteors falling on Ja
- Page 7 and 8:
QUADBI-. They separate the *quadric
- Page 9 and 10:
QUADROON. 1825 T. THOMSON isf Trine
- Page 11 and 12:
QUAERE. quaere, .as to the reason f
- Page 13 and 14:
QUAIL. losing heart, etc. 1549 COVE
- Page 15 and 16:
QUAKE. It appears, however, from a
- Page 17 and 18:
QUALIFY. 1549 LATIMER tth Serm. Edw
- Page 19 and 20: QUALM. qu- t fhualm (MIIG. qualm an
- Page 21 and 22: QUANTITY. 1668 WILKINS Real Char. i
- Page 23 and 24: QUARREL. bodye. 1871 WISE ffe-.u Fo
- Page 25 and 26: QUARRY. 1647 FAXSHAU-E tr. Pastor F
- Page 27 and 28: QUARTER. 27 QUARTER. Washington* (1
- Page 29 and 30: QUARTER. "quarter carrier of that h
- Page 31 and 32: QUARTERAGE. 12. intr. Of the moon:
- Page 33 and 34: QUARTER-PIECE. tan, dial wartern, 6
- Page 35 and 36: QUASHEE. quashed all farther proced
- Page 37 and 38: \ QUATBEBLE. Hence Qnatre-crested a
- Page 39 and 40: QUEBRACHO. queasy stomachs. 1889 C.
- Page 41 and 42: QUEEN. he was bought out. 1766 W. G
- Page 43 and 44: QUELLING. fooo tr. Bxffas Hist. \.
- Page 45 and 46: QUERCIVOROTTS. ? Obs. Qnerci'tric a
- Page 47 and 48: QUEST. t Quest, sb?- Olis. [Related
- Page 49 and 50: QTJESTIONATIVELY. 1653 MANTON Exf.
- Page 51 and 52: QUIBBLE. 1711 ADDISON Sfcct. No. 61
- Page 53 and 54: QUICK. 27. Of a curve, turn, etc. :
- Page 55 and 56: QUICKEN. MARKHAM Caval. i. (1617) 5
- Page 57 and 58: QUICKSILVER. N. CAEPENTEK Gtog. Del
- Page 59 and 60: QUIET. SHELLEV A lastor 393 A smoot
- Page 61 and 62: QITILL. perforce thy Doric quill. 1
- Page 63 and 64: QUILTER. 1659 TORRMNO, Borrevolment
- Page 65 and 66: QUININE. Quinine (kwinz'n, -ai-n, U
- Page 67 and 68: QUINQUINA. xxi. (1794) 291 Their co
- Page 69: QUINTUPLET. 1816 SOUTHEY in Q. Rev.
- Page 73 and 74: QUTTCLAIMANCE. 2. To renounce, resi
- Page 75 and 76: QUIVERING. quivering of the lip. 18
- Page 77 and 78: QUOIN. d. Build. The key-stone, or
- Page 79 and 80: QUOTE. author, etc.). 1787 BUHNS Ex
Change language