| Words | Parts of Speech | Meaning/Definition/Similar Words |
|---|---|---|
| qua-bird | noun | The American night heron. See under Night. |
| quacking | present participle & vb. noun | of Quack |
| quackery | noun | The acts, arts, or boastful pretensions of a quack; false pretensions to any art; empiricism. |
| quackish | adjective | Like a quack; boasting; characterized by quackery. |
| quackism | noun | Quackery. |
| quackled | imp. & past participle | of Quackle |
| quadrans | noun | A fourth part of the coin called an as. See 3d As, 2., The fourth of a penny; a farthing. See Cur. |
| quadrant | noun | The fourth part; the quarter., The quarter of a circle, or of the circumference of a circle, an arc of 90¡, or one subtending a right angle at the center., One of the four parts into which a plane is divided by the coordinate axes. The upper right-hand part is the first quadrant; the upper left-hand part the second; the lower left-hand part the third; and the lower right-hand part the fourth quadrant., An instrument for measuring altitudes, variously constructed and mounted for different specific uses in astronomy, surveying, gunnery, etc., consisting commonly of a graduated arc of 90¡, with an index or vernier, and either plain or telescopic sights, and usually having a plumb line or spirit level for fixing the vertical or horizontal direction. |
| quadrate | adjective | Having four equal sides, the opposite sides parallel, and four right angles; square., Produced by multiplying a number by itself; square., Square; even; balanced; equal; exact., Squared; suited; correspondent., A plane surface with four equal sides and four right angles; a square; hence, figuratively, anything having the outline of a square., An aspect of the heavenly bodies in which they are distant from each other 90¡, or the quarter of a circle; quartile. See the Note under Aspect, 6., The quadrate bone., To square; to agree; to suit; to correspond; — followed by with., To adjust (a gun) on its carriage; also, to train (a gun) for horizontal firing. |
| quadriga | noun | A car or chariot drawn by four horses abreast. |
| quadroon | noun | The offspring of a mulatto and a white person; a person quarter-blooded. |
| quaestor | noun | Same as Questor. |
| quaffing | present participle & vb. noun | of Quaff |
| quagmire | noun | Soft, wet, miry land, which shakes or yields under the feet. |
| qualling | present participle & vb. noun | of Quail |
| quaintly | adverb | In a quaint manner. |
| quakerly | adjective | Resembling Quakers; Quakerlike; Quakerish. |
| quakness | noun | The state of being quaky; liability to quake. |
| qualmish | adjective | Sick at the stomach; affected with nausea or sickly languor; inclined to vomit. |
| quandary | noun | A state of difficulty or perplexity; doubt; uncertainty., To bring into a state of uncertainty, perplexity, or difficulty. |
| quandong | noun | The edible drupaceous fruit of an Australian tree (Fusanus acuminatus) of the Sandalwood family; — called also quandang. |
| quantity | verb t. | To modify or qualify with respect to quantity; to fix or express the quantity of; to rate., The attribute of being so much, and not more or less; the property of being measurable, or capable of increase and decrease, multiplication and division; greatness; and more concretely, that which answers the question “How much?”; measure in regard to bulk or amount; determinate or comparative dimensions; measure; amount; bulk; extent; size., The extent or extension of a general conception, that is, the number of species or individuals to which it may be applied; also, its content or comprehension, that is, the number of its constituent qualities, attributes, or relations., The measure of a syllable; that which determines the time in which it is pronounced; as, the long or short quantity of a vowel or syllable., The relative duration of a tone., That which can be increased, diminished, or measured; especially (Math.), anything to which mathematical processes are applicable., A determinate or estimated amount; a sum or bulk; a certain portion or part; sometimes, a considerable amount; a large portion, bulk, or sum; as, a medicine taken in quantities, that is, in large quantities. |
| quarried | adjective | Provided with prey., of Quarry |
| quarrier | noun | A worker in a stone quarry. |
| quarries | plural | of Quarry |
| quartane | noun | Butane, each molecule of which has four carbon atoms. |
| quartene | noun | Same as Butylene. |
| quartter | verb t. | To divide into four equal parts., To divide; to separate into parts or regions., To furnish with shelter or entertainment; to supply with the means of living for a time; especially, to furnish shelter to; as, to quarter soldiers., To furnish as a portion; to allot., To arrange (different coats of arms) upon one escutcheon, as when a man inherits from both father and mother the right to bear arms. |
| quartern | noun | A quarter. Specifically: (a) The fourth part of a pint; a gill. (b) The fourth part of a peck, or of a stone (14 ibs.)., A loaf of bread weighing about four pounds; — called also quartern loaf. |
| quartile | noun | Same as Quadrate. |
| quartine | noun | A supposed fourth integument of an ovule, counting from the outside. |
| quashing | present participle & vb. noun | of Quash |
| quateron | noun | See 2d Quarteron. |
| quatorze | noun | The four aces, kings, queens, knaves, or tens, in the game of piquet; — so called because quatorze counts as fourteen points. |
| quatrain | noun | A stanza of four lines rhyming alternately. |
| quavered | imp. & past participle | of Quaver |
| quaverer | noun | One who quavers; a warbler. |
| queasily | adverb | In a queasy manner. |
| quebrith | noun | Sulphur. |
| queening | present participle & vb. noun | of Queen, Any one of several kinds of apples, as summer queening, scarlet queening, and early queening. An apple called the queening was cultivated in England two hundred years ago. |
| queendom | noun | The dominion, condition, or character of a queen. |
| queerish | adjective | Rather queer; somewhat singular. |
| quelling | present participle & vb. noun | of Quell |
| quemeful | adjective | Kindly; merciful. |
| quenched | imp. & past participle | of Quench |
| quencher | noun | One who, or that which, quenches. |
| quenelle | noun | A kind of delicate forcemeat, commonly poached and used as a dish by itself or for garnishing. |
| quercite | noun | A white crystalline substance, C6H7(OH)5, found in acorns, the fruit of the oak (Quercus). It has a sweet taste, and is regarded as a pentacid alcohol. |
| querying | present participle & vb. noun | of Query |
| questant | noun | One who undertakes a quest; a seeker. |
| question | noun | The act of asking; interrogation; inquiry; as, to examine by question and answer., Discussion; debate; hence, objection; dispute; doubt; as, the story is true beyond question; he obeyed without question., Examination with reference to a decisive result; investigation; specifically, a judicial or official investigation; also, examination under torture., That which is asked; inquiry; interrogatory; query., Hence, a subject of investigation, examination, or debate; theme of inquiry; matter to be inquired into; as, a delicate or doubtful question., Talk; conversation; speech; speech., To ask questions; to inquire., To argue; to converse; to dispute., To inquire of by asking questions; to examine by interrogatories; as, to question a witness., To doubt of; to be uncertain of; to query., To raise a question about; to call in question; to make objection to., To talk to; to converse with. |
| questmen | plural | of Questman |
| questman | noun | One legally empowered to make quest of certain matters, esp. of abuses of weights and measures., A churchwarden’s assistant; a sidesman., A collector of parish rents. |
| quibbled | imp. & past participle | of Quibble |
| quibbler | noun | One who quibbles; a caviler; also, a punster. |
| quickens | noun | Quitch grass. |
| quickset | noun | A living plant set to grow, esp. when set for a hedge; specifically, the hawthorn., Made of quickset., To plant with living shrubs or trees for a hedge; as, to quickset a ditch. |
| quiddany | noun | A confection of quinces, in consistency between a sirup and marmalade. |
| quiddity | noun | The essence, nature, or distinctive peculiarity, of a thing; that which answers the question, Quid est? or, What is it?, A trifling nicety; a cavil; a quibble. |
| quiddled | imp. & past participle | of Quiddle |
| quiddler | noun | One who wastes his energy about trifles. |
| quidnunc | noun | One who is curious to know everything that passes; one who knows, or pretends to know, all that is going on. |
| quiesced | imp. & past participle | of Quiesce |
| quieting | present participle & vb. noun | of Quiet |
| quietage | noun | Quietness. |
| quietism | noun | Peace or tranquillity of mind; calmness; indifference; apathy; dispassion; indisturbance; inaction., The system of the Quietists, who maintained that religion consists in the withdrawal of the mind from worldly interests and anxieties and its constant employment in the passive contemplation of God and his attributes. |
| quietist | noun | One of a sect of mystics originated in the seventeenth century by Molinos, a Spanish priest living in Rome. See Quietism. |
| quietude | noun | Rest; repose; quiet; tranquillity. |
| quilling | present participle & vb. noun | of Quill, A band of linen, muslin, or the like, fluted, folded, or plaited so as somewhat to resemble a row of quills., One of the rounded plaits or flutings of such a band. |
| quilting | present participle & vb. noun | of Quilt, The act of stitching or running in patterns, as in making a quilt., A quilting bee. See Bee, 2., The material used for making quilts., A coating of strands of rope for a water vessel. |
| quinazol | noun | A complex nitrogenous base related to cinnoline. |
| quincunx | noun | An arrangement of things by fives in a square or a rectangle, one being placed at each corner and one in the middle; especially, such an arrangement of trees repeated indefinitely, so as to form a regular group with rows running in various directions., The position of planets when distant from each other five signs, or 150¡., A quincuncial arrangement, as of the parts of a flower in aestivation. See Quincuncial, 2. |
| quindism | noun | A fifteenth. |
| quinible | noun | An interval of a fifth; also, a part sung with such intervals. |
| quininic | adjective | Pertaining to, or designating, a nitrogenous acid obtained as a yellow crystalline substance by the oxidation of quinine. |
| quinogen | noun | A hypothetical radical of quinine and related alkaloids. |
| quinovic | adjective | Pertaining to, or designating, a crystalline acid obtained from some varieties of cinchona bark. |
| quinovin | noun | An amorphous bitter glucoside derived from cinchona and other barks. Called also quinova bitter, and quinova. |
| quinoxyl | noun | The hypothetical radical of certain quinone derivatives related to rhodizonic acid. |
| quinque- | A combining form meaning five, five times, fivefold; as, quinquefid, five-cleft; quinquedentate, five-toothed. | |
| quintain | noun | An object to be tilted at; — called also quintel. |
| quintile | noun | The aspect of planets when separated the fifth part of the zodiac, or 72¡. |
| quintine | noun | The embryonic sac of an ovule, sometimes regarded as an innermost fifth integument. Cf. Quartine, and Tercine. |
| quintole | noun | A group of five notes to be played or sung in the time of four of the same species. |
| quipping | present participle & vb. noun | of Quip |
| quirites | noun pl. | Roman citizens. |
| quirkish | adjective | Consisting of quirks; resembling a quirk. |
| quirpele | noun | The Indian ferret. |
| quitting | present participle & vb. noun | of Quit |
| quitrent | noun | A rent reserved in grants of land, by the payment of which the tenant is quit from other service. |
| quitture | noun | A discharge; an issue. |
| quivered | imp. & past participle | of Quiver, Furnished with, or carrying, a quiver., Sheathed, as in a quiver. |
| qui vive | The challenge of a French sentinel, or patrol; — used like the English challenge: “Who comes there?” | |
| quixotic | adjective | Like Don Quixote; romantic to extravagance; absurdly chivalric; apt to be deluded. |
| quixotry | noun | Quixotism; visionary schemes. |
| quizzing | present participle & vb. noun | of Quiz |
| quizzism | noun | The act or habit of quizzing. |
| quoddies | noun pl. | Herring taken and cured or smoked near Quoddy Head, Maine, or near the entrance of Passamaquoddy Ray. |
| quotable | adjective | Capable or worthy of being quoted; as, a quotable writer; a quotable sentence. |
| quotient | noun | The number resulting from the division of one number by another, and showing how often a less number is contained in a greater; thus, the quotient of twelve divided by four is three., The result of any process inverse to multiplication. See the Note under Multiplication. |
| quotiety | noun | The relation of an object to number. |