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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

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  2. quail,
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Origin of quaint

1175–1225; Middle English queinte < Old French, variant of cointe clever, pleasing ≪ Latin cognitus known (past participle of cognōscere; see cognition)
ANTONYMS FOR quaint
2. ordinary.
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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