quaint

[kweynt]

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.

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

Synonyms for quaint

1. antiquated, archaic. 2. curious, uncommon.

Antonyms for quaint

2. ordinary.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for quaintly

Contemporary Examples of quaintly

Nothing in Shesol's study reads as quaintly as Johnson's concern for the good opinion of "intellectuals."
David's Bookclub: Mutual Contempt
David Frum
April 28, 2013
This now seems as quaintly adorable as picture hats and daily milk deliveries.
Washington Goes Platinum
Megan McArdle
January 8, 2013
Sinn Fein, the political wing of the IRA as it used to quaintly be called, says Martin McGuinness will shake Queen's hand.
Queen and Irish Nationalist WILL Shake Hands
Tom Sykes
June 22, 2012
His is the only story that has a chance this week of knocking climate change off what are still, quaintly, called the front pages.
A Skeptic's Guide to Copenhagen
Tunku Varadarajan
December 6, 2009

Historical Examples of quaintly

"In his own parish in particular," quaintly added John Effingham.
Homeward Bound
James Fenimore Cooper
He discovered her quaintly with a jar of pickled frogs in her hand.
The Innocent Adventuress
Mary Hastings Bradley
There were tables and chairs of earth-style, quaintly old-fashioned.
The World Beyond
Raymond King Cummings
"Troth, you're the only gentleman of my acquaintance," said Freney, quaintly.
The Knight Of Gwynne, Vol. I (of II)
Charles James Lever
“Verily I guessed so much, for his eyes be in your head,” said Barbara quaintly.
Clare Avery
Emily Sarah Holt

British Dictionary definitions for quaintly

quaint

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 quaintly

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.