a. [ OF. acoint. See Acquaint, v. t. ] Acquainted. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Acquainted; p. pr. & vb. n. Acquainting. ] [ OE. aqueinten, acointen, OF. acointier, LL. adcognitare, fr. L. ad + cognitus, p. p. of cognoscere to know; con- + noscere to know. See Quaint, Know. ] 1. To furnish or give experimental knowledge of; to make (one) to know; to make familiar; -- followed by with. [ 1913 Webster ]

Before a man can speak on any subject, it is necessary to be acquainted with it. Locke. [ 1913 Webster ]

A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. Isa. liii. 3. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To communicate notice to; to inform; to make cognizant; -- followed by with (formerly, also, by of), or by that, introducing the intelligence; as, to acquaint a friend with the particulars of an act. [ 1913 Webster ]

Acquaint her here of my son Paris' love. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

I must acquaint you that I have received
New dated letters from Northumberland. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. To familiarize; to accustom. [ Obs. ] Evelyn. [ 1913 Webster ]

To be acquainted with, to be possessed of personal knowledge of; to be cognizant of; to be more or less familiar with; to be on terms of social intercourse with. [ 1913 Webster ]

Syn. -- To inform; apprise; communicate; advise. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ Cf. OF. acointable ]. Easy to be acquainted with; affable. [ Obs. ] Rom. of R. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ OE. aqueintance, OF. acointance, fr. acointier. See Acquaint. ] 1. A state of being acquainted, or of having intimate, or more than slight or superficial, knowledge; personal knowledge gained by intercourse short of that of friendship or intimacy; as, I know the man; but have no acquaintance with him. [ 1913 Webster ]

Contract no friendship, or even acquaintance, with a guileful man. Sir W. Jones. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A person or persons with whom one is acquainted. [ 1913 Webster ]

Montgomery was an old acquaintance of Ferguson. Macaulay. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ In this sense the collective term acquaintance was formerly both singular and plural, but it is now commonly singular, and has the regular plural acquaintances. [ 1913 Webster ]

To be of acquaintance, to be intimate. --
To take acquaintance of or
with, to make the acquaintance of. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

Syn. -- Familiarity; intimacy; fellowship; knowledge. -- Acquaintance, Familiarity, Intimacy. These words mark different degrees of closeness in social intercourse. Acquaintance arises from occasional intercourse; as, our acquaintance has been a brief one. We can speak of a slight or an intimate acquaintance. Familiarity is the result of continued acquaintance. It springs from persons being frequently together, so as to wear off all restraint and reserve; as, the familiarity of old companions. Intimacy is the result of close connection, and the freest interchange of thought; as, the intimacy of established friendship. [ 1913 Webster ]

Our admiration of a famous man lessens upon our nearer acquaintance with him. Addison. [ 1913 Webster ]

We contract at last such a familiarity with them as makes it difficult and irksome for us to call off our minds. Atterbury. [ 1913 Webster ]

It is in our power to confine our friendships and intimacies to men of virtue. Rogers. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A state of being acquainted; acquaintance. Southey. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Cf. F. acointant, p. pr. ] An acquaintance. [ R. ] Swift. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Personally known; familiar. See To be acquainted with, under Acquaint, v. t. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. State of being acquainted; degree of acquaintance. [ R. ] Boyle. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ Pref. dis- + acquaint: cf. OF. desacointier. ] To render unacquainted; to make unfamiliar. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

While my sick heart
With dismal smart
Is disacquainted never. Herrick. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Neglect of disuse of familiarity, or familiar acquaintance. [ Obs. ] South. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Lack of acquaintance. Good. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Want of acquaintance; the state of being unacquainted. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. To acquaint previously or beforehand. Fielding. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Previous acquaintance or knowledge. Harris. [ 1913 Webster ]

{ } n. [ Gael. cuach. Cf. Quaff. ] A small shallow cup or drinking vessel. [ Scot. ] [ Written also quegh. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. [ imp. & p. p. Qualled p. pr. & vb. n. Qualling. ] [ AS. cwelan to die, perish; akin to cwalu violent death, D. kwaal pain, G. qual torment, OHG. quelan to suffer torment, Lith. gelti to hurt, gela pain. Cf. Quell. ] 1. To die; to perish; hence, to wither; to fade. [ Obs. ] Spenser. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To become quelled; to become cast down; to sink under trial or apprehension of danger; to lose the spirit and power of resistance; to lose heart; to give way; to shrink; to cower. [ 1913 Webster ]

The atheist power shall quail, and confess his fears. I. Taylor.
Stouter hearts than a woman's have quailed in this terrible winter. Longfellow. [ 1913 Webster ]

Syn. -- to cower; flinch; shrink; quake; tremble; blench; succumb; yield. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ Cf. Quell. ] To cause to fail in spirit or power; to quell; to crush; to subdue. [ Obs. ] Spenser. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. [ OF. coaillier, F. cailler, from L. coagulare. See Coagulate. ] To curdle; to coagulate, as milk. [ Obs. ] Holland. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ OF. quaille, F. caille, LL. quaquila, qualia, qualea, of Dutch or German origin; cf. D. kwakkel, kwartel, OHG. wahtala, G. wachtel. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

1. (Zool.) Any gallinaceous bird belonging to Coturnix and several allied genera of the Old World, especially the common European quail (Coturnix communis), the rain quail (Coturnix Coromandelica) of India, the stubble quail (Coturnix pectoralis), and the Australian swamp quail (Synoicus australis). [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Zool.) Any one of several American partridges belonging to Colinus, Callipepla, and allied genera, especially the bobwhite (called Virginia quail, and Maryland quail), and the California quail (Calipepla Californica). [ 1913 Webster ]

3. (Zool.) Any one of numerous species of Turnix and allied genera, native of the Old World, as the Australian painted quail (Turnix varius). See Turnix. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. A prostitute; -- so called because the quail was thought to be a very amorous bird. [ Obs. ] Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

Bustard quail (Zool.), a small Asiatic quail-like bird of the genus Turnix, as Turnix taigoor, a black-breasted species, and the hill bustard quail (Turnix ocellatus). See Turnix. --
Button quail (Zool.), one of several small Asiatic species of Turnix, as Turnix Sykesii, which is said to be the smallest game bird of India. --
Mountain quail. See under Mountain. --
Quail call, a call or pipe for alluring quails into a net or within range. --
Quail dove (Zool.), any one of several American ground pigeons belonging to Geotrygon and allied genera. --
Quail hawk (Zool.), the New Zealand sparrow hawk (Hieracidea Novæ-Hollandiæ). --
Quail pipe. See Quail call, above. --
Quail snipe (Zool.), the dowitcher, or red-breasted snipe; -- called also robin snipe, and brown snipe. --
Sea quail (Zool.), the turnstone. [ Local, U. S. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Cf. Quail the bird. ] (Zool.) The upland plover. [ Canadian ] [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ OE. queint, queynte, coint, prudent, wise, cunning, pretty, odd, OF. cointe cultivated, amiable, agreeable, neat, fr. L. cognitus known, p. p. of cognoscere to know; con + noscere (for gnoscere) to know. See Know, and cf. Acquaint, Cognition. ] 1. Prudent; wise; hence, crafty; artful; wily. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

Clerks be full subtle and full quaint. Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Characterized by ingenuity or art; finely fashioned; skillfully wrought; elegant; graceful; nice; neat. [ Archaic ] “ The queynte ring.” “ His queynte spear.” Chaucer. “ A shepherd young quaint.” Chapman. [ 1913 Webster ]

Every look was coy and wondrous quaint. Spenser. [ 1913 Webster ]

To show bow quaint an orator you are. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. Curious and fanciful; affected; odd; whimsical; antique; archaic; singular; unusual; as, quaint architecture; a quaint expression. [ 1913 Webster ]

Some stroke of quaint yet simple pleasantry. Macaulay. [ 1913 Webster ]

An old, long-faced, long-bodied servant in quaint livery. W. Irving. [ 1913 Webster ]

Syn. -- Quaint, Odd, Antique. Antique is applied to that which has come down from the ancients, or which is made to imitate some ancient work of art. Odd implies disharmony, incongruity, or unevenness. An odd thing or person is an exception to general rules of calculation and procedure, or expectation and common experience. In the current use of quaint, the two ideas of odd and antique are combined, and the word is commonly applied to that which is pleasing by reason of both these qualities. Thus, we speak of the quaint architecture of many old buildings in London; or a quaint expression, uniting at once the antique and the fanciful. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ OF. cointise. ] 1. Craft; subtlety; cunning. [ Obs. ] Chaucer. R. of Glouces. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Elegance; beauty. [ Obs. ] Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ]

adv. In a quaint manner. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The quality of being quaint. Pope. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ See 3d Quire. ] A quire; a book. [ Obs. ] “The king's quhair.” James I. (of Scotland). [ 1913 Webster ]

(Zool.) The turnstone. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. To throw sticks at cocks; to throw anything about awkwardly or irregularly. [ Prov. Eng. ] Southey. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Squeamish. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The quality or state of being unacquainted; want of acquaintance; ignorance. [ 1913 Webster ]

He was then in happy unacquaintance with everything connected with that obnoxious cavity. Sir W. Hamilton. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. 1. Not acquainted. Cowper. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Not usual; unfamiliar; strange. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

And the unacquainted light began to fear. Spenser. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Unacquaintance. Whiston. [ 1913 Webster ]

See accommodating.
See aching.
See ailing.
See aiming.
See alarming.
See altering.
See appreciating.
See approving.
See aspiring.
See assisting.
See attempting.
See attending.
See bearing.
See befitting.
See beginning.
See believing.
See bleaching.
See bleeding.
See blemishing.
See blenching.
See blossoming.
See blushing.
See boding.
See branching.
See breathing.
See burning.
See calculating.
See ceasing.
See changing.
See charming.
See communicating.
See complaining.
See complying.
See conceiving.
See conducing.
See confessing.
See conniving.
See consenting.
See considering.
See conspiring.
See consulting.
See consuming.
See contending.
See contriving.
See conversing.
See convincing.
See dawning.
See decaying.
See delaying.
See depending.
See derogating.
See deserving.
See desiring.
See despairing.
See detesting.
See deviating.
See differencing.
See discerning.
See discording.
See discriminating.
See disobliging.
See dispensing.
See dissembling.
See dissolving.
See distinguishing.
See distracting.
See disturbing.
See doubting.
See dreading.
See drooping.
See ebbing.
See echoing.
See edifying.
See ending.
See enduring.
See engaging.
See enjoying.
See entering.
See enterprising.
See entertaining.
See envying.
See existing.
See fadging.
See fading.
See fainting.
See faltering.
See fearing.
See feigning.
See fighting.
See fitting.
See flagging.
See flattering.
See flinching.
See folding.
See forbearing.
See foreboding.
See foreseeing.
See forgiving.
See giving.
See grudging.
See harming.
See heeding.
See hesitating.
See hoping.
See hurting.
See importing.
See imposing.
See improving.
See interesting.
See intermitting.
See intoxicating.
See inviting.
See jarring.
See laboring.
See lingering.
See listening.
See loving.
See meddling.
See meriting.
See mistrusting.
See moving.
See murmuring.
See obliging.
See observing.
See offending.
See opening.
See pardoning.
See paying.
See perceiving.
See performing.
See perishing.
See pitying.
See pleasing.
See possessing.
See preaching.
See prepossessing.
See presuming.
See pretending.
See prevailing.
See prevaricating.
See profiting.
See promising.
See proving.
See quailing.
See questioning.
See reasoning.
See recalling.
See reclining.
See recurring.
See referring.
See reflecting.
See refunding.
See refusing.
See rejoicing.
See relaxing.
See relishing.
See remembering.
See repenting.
See repining.
See reproving.
See repulsing.
See resisting.
See resolving.
See resting.
See returning.
See rewarding.
See sanctifying.
See satisfying.
See searching.
See seeing.
See setting.
See shrinking.
See sinking.
See sleeping.
See slipping.
See slumbering.
See speaking.
See stinting.
See stirring.
See stooping.
See submitting.
See sufficing.
See suiting.
See surging.
See suspecting.
See sweating.
See swerving.
See sympathizing.
See tasting.
See thriving.
See tiring.
See toiling.
See trading.
See trembling.
See trespassing.
See trifling.
See vacillating.
See varying.
See walking.
See wandering.
See waning.
See wasting.
See wavering.
See weeping.
See winking.
See winning.
See withdrawing.
See withering.
See wondering.
See working.
See writing.
See yielding.
----- and the like. [ 1913 Webster ]

The above classes of words are unlimited in extent, and such compounds may be formed by any writer or speaker at will from almost all the adjectives or participles in the language, excepting those which have a recognized and usual negative correspondent with the prefix -in. No attempt will be made, therefore, to define them all in this Dictionary; many will be omitted from its Vocabulary which are negations of the simple word, and are readily explained by prefixing a not to the latter. Derivatives of these words in -ly and -ness will also, for the most part, be omitted for the same or similar reasons. [ 1913 Webster ]

There will be inserted as separate articles with definitions, the following: -- [ 1913 Webster ]

1. Those which have acquired an opposed or contrary, instead of a merely negative, meaning; as, unfriendly, ungraceful, unpalatable, unquiet, and the like; or else an intensive sense more than a prefixed not would express; as, unending, unparalleled, undisciplined, undoubted, unsafe, and the like. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Those which have the value of independent words, inasmuch as the simple words are either not used at all, or are rarely, or at least much less frequently, used; as, unavoidable, unconscionable, undeniable, unspeakable, unprecedented, unruly, and the like; or inasmuch as they are used in a different sense from the usual meaning of the primitive, or especially in one of the significations of the latter; as, unaccountable, unalloyed, unbelieving, unpretending, unreserved, and the like; or inasmuch as they are so frequently and familiarly used that they are hardly felt to be of negative origin; as, uncertain, uneven, and the like. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. Those which are anomalous, provincial, or, for some other reason, not desirable to be used, and are so indicated; as, unpure for impure, unsatisfaction for dissatisfaction, unexpressible for inexpressible, and the like. [ 1913 Webster ]

II. Un- is prefixed to nouns to express the absence of, or the contrary of, that which the noun signifies; as, unbelief, unfaith, unhealth, unrest, untruth, and the like. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ Compounds of this last class are given in full in their proper order in the Vocabulary. [ 1913 Webster ]