Quahog, kwa-hog′, n. the common round clam of the North American Atlantic coast.—Also Quahaug′. [Amer. Ind. poquauhock.]
Quaid, kwād, adj. (Spens.) quelled, crushed.
Quaigh, kwāh, n. (Scot.) a kind of drinking-cup, usually made of wood. [Gael. cuach, a cup.]
Quail, kwāl, v.i. to cower: to fail in spirit: (Shak.) to slacken.—v.t. to subdue: to terrify.—n. Quail′ing (Shak.), act of one who quails: a failing in courage. [A.S. cwelan, to die; Ger. quälen, to suffer.]
Quail, kwāl, n. a small gallinaceous bird, related to the partridge family: (Shak.) a whore.—ns. Quail′-call, -pipe, a call for alluring quails into a net. [O. Fr. quaille—Low L. quaquila—Old Dut. quakele; cf. Low Ger. quackel, and Quack.]
Quaint, kwānt, adj. unusual: odd: whimsical: (obs.) prim, affectedly nice: fine: (Shak.) clever.—adv. Quaint′ly.—n. Quaint′ness. [O. Fr. coint—L. cognitus, known. Some confusion with L. comptus, neat, is probable.]
Quake, kwāk, v.i. to tremble, esp. with cold or fear: to tremble from want of firmness.—v.t. to cause to tremble:—pr.p. quā′king; pa.t. and pa.p. quāked.—n. a shake: a shudder.—ns. Quā′kiness; Quā′king; Quā′king-grass, a native grass of the genus Briza, so called from the tremulous motion of its spikelets.—adv. Quā′kingly.—adj. Quā′ky, shaky. [A.S. cwacian; perh. allied to quick.]
Quaker, kwā′kėr, n. one of the Society of Friends, a religious sect founded by George Fox (1624-90): a dummy cannon: a collector's name for certain noctuoid moths.—n. Quā′ker-bird, the sooty albatross.—n.pl. Quā′ker-butt′ons, the round seeds of nux vomica.—ns. Quā′ker-col′our, drab; Quā′kerdom, the Quakers as a class; Quā′keress, a female Quaker.—adjs. Quā′kerish, Quā′kerly, like a Quaker.—n. Quā′kerism, the tenets of the Quakers.—Stewed Quaker, molasses or honey, with butter and vinegar, taken hot against colds. [The nickname Quakers was first given them by Judge Bennet at Derby, because Fox bade him and those present quake at the word of the Lord.]
Qualify, kwol′i-fī, v.t. to render capable or suitable: to furnish with legal power: to limit by modifications: to soften: to abate: to reduce the strength of: to vary: (Scots law) to prove, confirm.—v.i. to take the necessary steps to fit one's self for a certain position.—adj. Qual′ifiable.—ns. Qualificā′tion, that which qualifies: a quality that fits a person for a place, &c.: (logic) the attaching of quality, or the distinction of affirmative and negative, to a term: abatement: (Shak.) pacification; Qual′ificātive, that which qualifies, modifies, or restricts: a qualifying term or statement; Qual′ificātor (R.C.), one who prepares ecclesiastical causes for trial.—adj. Qual′ificātory.—p.adj. Qual′ified, fitted: competent: modified: limited.—adv. Qual′ifiedly.—ns. Qual′ifiedness; Qual′ifier.—adj. Qual′ifying.—Property qualification, the holding of a certain amount of property as a condition to the right of suffrage, &c. [Fr.,—Low L. qualificāre—L. qualis, of what sort, facĕre, to make.]
Quality, kwol′i-ti, n. that which makes a thing what it is: property: peculiar power: acquisition: character: rank: superior birth or character: (logic) the character of a proposition as affirmative or negative: (Shak.) character in respect to dryness or moisture, heat or cold: (Shak.) cause, occasion.—adj. Qual′itātive, relating to quality: (chem.) determining the nature of components.—adv. Qual′itātively.—adj. Qual′itied, furnished with qualities.—Accidental quality, a quality whose removal would not impair the identity of its subject, as opposed to an Essential quality; The quality, persons of high rank, collectively. [Fr.,—L. qualitas, qualitatis.]