Dictionary
An American Dictionary of the English Language
Revised and enlarged (Goodrich & Porter)
Springfield, Mass. · G. & C. Merriam · 1865
- Entries
- 95,912
- Pages
- 1,538
- Illustrations
- 2,133
Look up a word as the writers of the time used it.
Quick'ens, n. p. 1075See DOG-GRASS.Quick'en-tree, n. p. 1075(Bot.) A tree, the wild sorb; the Pyrus, or Sorbus, aucuparia, a species of service-tree;—sometimes also called rowan-tree, or roan-tree, mountain-ash, also fowl-pear, because the apples are used as…Quick'en, v. t. p. 1075To make alive; to vivify; to revive or resuscitate, as from death, or an inanimate state; to reinvigorate. The mistress whom I serve quickens what's dead. Shak. 2. To make lively, active, or…Quick'en, v. i. p. 1075To become alive; to become vivified or enlivened. The heart is the first part that quickens, and the last that dies. Ray. When the pale and bloodless east began To quicken to the sun. Tennyson. 2. To…Quick'en-er, n. p. 1075One who, or that which, quickens, revives, vivifies, or communicates life, reinvigorates, or accelerates.Quick'en-ing, n. p. 1075The act or process of making or of becoming quick. 2. (Physiol.) The first motion of the fetus in the womb felt by the mother, and other abdominal movements giving rise to similar sensations…Quĭck'-grăss, n. p. 1075See QUITCH-GRASS.Quick'lime, n. p. 1075(Chem.) The protoxide of calcium; any carbonate of lime, as chalk, limestone, oyster-shells, &c., deprived of its carbonic acid and aqueous matter, by exposure to intense heat.Quĭck'ly, adv. p. 1075Speedily; with haste or celerity; soon; without delay.Quick'-match, n. p. 1075See MATCH.Quick'ness, n. p. 1075The condition or quality of being quick or living; life. [Obs.] Touch it with thy celestial quickness. Herbert. 2. Rapidity of motion; speed; celerity. Must send thee hence With fiery quickness.…Quĭck'sănd, n. p. 1075Sand easily moved or readily yielding to pressure; especially, a large mass of loose or moving sand mixed with water, sometimes found at the mouth of a river or along some coasts, and very dangerous…Quick'set, n. p. 1075A living plant set to grow, particularly for a hedge;—applied especially to the hawthorn. Evelyn.Quick'set, v. t. p. 1075To plant with living shrubs or trees for a hedge or fence; as, to quickset a ditch. Mortimer.Quick'set, a. p. 1075Made of quickset. I could find dates and pomegranates on the quickset hedges. H. Walpole.Quick'-sight'ed, a. p. 1075Having quick sight or acute discernment; quick to see or discern.Quick'-sight'ed-ness, n. p. 1075Quickness of sight or discernment; readiness to see or discern.Quick'sil-ver, n. p. 1075(Min.) Mercury. See MERCURY.Quĭck'sĭl-vered, a. p. 1075Overlaid with quicksilver, or an amalgam of quicksilver and tin-foil.Quĭck'sĭl-ver-ing, n. p. 1075The mercury and foil on the back of a looking-glass.Quick'step, n. p. 1075(Mus.) A lively, spirited march.Quick'-wit'ted, a. p. 1075Having ready wit. Shak.Quick'-wit'ted-ness, n. p. 1075Readiness of wit.Quid, n. p. 1075A portion suitable to be chewed; a cud.Quid, v. t. p. 1075(Man.) To suffer to drop from the mouth, as hay or other food when partially chewed;—said of horses. Youatt.Qui'dam p. 1075Somebody; one unknown.Quid'da-ny, n. p. 1075A confection of quinces, in consistency between a sirup and marmalade. Dunton.Quid'da-tive, a. p. 1076Constituting the essence of a thing; quidditative.Quid'dit, n. p. 1076A subtility; an equivocation. [Obs.] Shak.Quid'di-tā'tive, a. p. 1076Constituting or containing the essence of a thing.Quid'di-ty, n. p. 1076The essence or nature of a thing; that which constitutes the peculiar nature of any thing, or answers the question, Quid est? or, What is it? “The quiddity or characteristic difference of poetry as…Quĭd'dle, v. i. p. 1076To spend or waste time in trifling employments, or to attend to useful subjects in a trifling, superficial manner; to dawdle.Quid'dle or Quid'dler, n. p. 1076One who spends time in trifling niceties.Quid'nŭnc, n. p. 1076One who is curious to know every thing that passes; one who knows, or pretends to know, all occurrences. “The idle stories of quidnuncs.” Motley.Qui-ēsçe', v. i. p. 1076To be silent, as a letter; to have no sound. M. Stuart.Qui-ēs'çence or Qui-ēs'çen-cy, n. p. 1076The state or quality of being quiescent; absence of motion; rest; repose. 2. Rest of the mind; a state of the mind free from agitation or emotion. 3. (Gram.) Silence; the having no sound, as of a…Qui-ēs'cent, a. p. 1076Being in a state of repose; still; not moving; as, a quiescent body or fluid. 2. Not ruffled with passion; unagitated; not in action; not excited; quiet; dormant. In times of national security, the…Qui-ēs'cent, n. p. 1076(Gram.) A silent letter. M. Stuart.Qui-ēs'cent-ly, adv. p. 1076In a quiescent manner; calmly; quietly.Qui'et, a. p. 1076Being in a state of rest; not moving; without stir, motion, or agitation. They ... were quiet all the night, saying, In the morning, when it is day, we shall kill him. Judg. xvi. 2. 2. Free from…Qui'et, n. p. 1076The state of a thing not in motion; rest; repose. 2. Freedom from disturbance or alarm; tranquillity; peace; security. And join with thee, calm Peace and Quiet. Milton. At quiet, still; peaceful.—In…Qui'et, v. t. p. 1076To stop motion in; to still; to reduce to a state of rest; as, to quiet corporeal motion. 2. To calm; to appease; to pacify; to lull; to allay; to tranquillize; as, to quiet the passions; to quiet…Qui'et-er, n. p. 1076One who, or that which, quiets.Qui'et-ism, n. p. 1076Peace or tranquillity of mind; apathy; dispassion; indisturbance; inaction. 2. (Eccl. Hist.) The system of the Quietists, who maintained that religion consists in an internal rest or repose of the…Quī'et-ist, n. p. 1076(Eccl. Hist.) One of a sect of mystics, originated by Molino, a Spanish priest, who maintained the principles of Quietism.Qui'et-ist'ic, a. p. 1076Pertaining to a Quietist, or to Quietism.Qui'et-ly, adv. p. 1076In a quiet state or manner; without motion; in a state of rest; as, to lie or sit quietly. 2. Without tumult, alarm, dispute, or disturbance; peaceably; as, to live quietly. 3. Calmly, without…Qui'et-ness, n. p. 1076The state of being quiet; freedom from agitation, disturbance, or excitement; stillness; tranquillity; calmness. I would have peace and quietness. Milton.Qui'et-sōme, a. p. 1076Calm; still; undisturbed. [Obs.] Spenser.Quiē'-tūde, n. p. 1076Rest; repose; quiet; tranquillity.Qui-ē'tus, n. p. 1076Rest; repose; death; hence, a final discharge or acquittance; that which silences claims. When he himself might his quietus make With a bare bodkin. Shak.Qui-ē'tus, a. p. 1076(Old Eng. Law.) Quit; clear; acquitted; discharged. Burrill.Quill, n. p. 1076The large, strong feather of a goose or other large bird;—used for writing-pens, &c. 2. Hence, the instrument of writing; a pen; as, the proper subject of his quill. Wotton. 3. A spine or prickle, as…Quill, v. t. p. 1076To plait, or to form with small ridges like quills or reeds; as, a woolen stuff quilled; to quill a ruffle. 2. To wind on a quill, as thread or yarn. Judd.Quill'-bit, n. p. 1076A kind of instrument for boring wood; a gouge-bit.Quill'-driv'er, n. p. 1076One who works with a pen; especially, a clerk.Quilled, a. p. 1076Furnished with quills;—used in composition. “A sharp-quilled porcupine.” Shak.Quil'let, n. p. 1076Subtilty; nicety; quibble. “These nice, sharp quillets of the law.” Shak.Quill'ing, n. p. 1076A narrow border or trimming of lace, and the like, folded or plaited so as somewhat to resemble a row of quills. Simmonds.Quill'-wort, n. p. 1076(Bot.) A cryptogamic aquatic plant (Isoetes lacustris), having a grass-like shape. It is found on the shallow bottoms of ponds in Europe and America.