definitions

quaint

[ kweynt ]
/ kweɪnt /
||
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adjective, quaint·er, quaint·est.

having an old-fashioned attractiveness or charm; oddly picturesque: a quaint old house.
strange, peculiar, or unusual in an interesting, pleasing, or amusing way: a quaint sense of humor.
skillfully or cleverly made.
Obsolete. wise; skilled.

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RELATED WORDS

whimsical, funny, unusual, peculiar, fanciful, curious, weird, laughable, bizarre, cute, picturesque, charming, archaic, antiquated, droll, eccentric, erratic, fantastic, freakish, idiosyncratic

Nearby words

quaich, quail, quail clock, quail dove, quail-brush, quaint, quaintly, quair, quake, quake in one's boots, quakeproof

Origin of quaint

1175–1225; Middle English queinte < Old French, variant of cointe clever, pleasing ≪ Latin cognitus known (past participle of cognōscere; see cognition)
Related formsquaint·ly, adverbquaint·ness, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for quaint

British Dictionary definitions for quaint

quaint

/ (kweɪnt) /

adjective

attractively unusual, esp in an old-fashioned stylea quaint village
odd, peculiar, or inappropriatea quaint sense of duty
Derived Formsquaintly, adverbquaintness, noun

Word Origin for quaint

C13 (in the sense: clever): from Old French cointe, from Latin cognitus known, from cognoscere to ascertain
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for quaint

quaint

adj.

c.1200, cointe, "cunning, ingenious; proud," from Old French cointe "knowledgeable, well-informed; clever; arrogant, proud; elegant, gracious," from Latin cognitus "known, approved," past participle of cognoscere "get or come to know well" (see cognizance). Modern spelling is from early 14c.

Later in English, "elaborate, skillfully made" (c.1300); "strange and clever" (mid-14c.). Sense of "old-fashioned but charming" is first attested 1795, and could describe the word itself, which had become rare after c.1700 (though it soon recovered popularity in this secondary sense). Related: Quaintly; quaintness.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper