Emily Dickinson Lexicon

QUIRK'ISH, a.

1. Consisting of quirks, turns, quibbles or artful evasions. – Barrow.
2. Resembling a quirk.

QUIRP'ELE, n.

The Indian ferret, an animal of the weasel kind. – Dict. Nat. Hist.

QUIT, a.

Free; clear; discharged from; absolved. The owner of the ox shall be quit. Exod. xxi. [This word, though primarily a participle, and never placed before its noun, has properly the sense of an adjective.]

QUIT, v.t. [pret. and pp. quit or quitted. Fr. quitter; It. quitare and chitare; Port. and Sp. quitar; D. kwyten; G. quittiren; Dan. quitterer; Sw. quitta; W. gadu and gadaw, to quit; Ir. cead, leave; cuitighim, to requite. This is the L. cedo. The sense of quit is to leave, to withdraw from; but the primary sense of the root must have been to move or to send; for to requite is to send back. See Class Cd, and Cs.]

1. To leave; to depart from, either temporarily or forever. It does not necessarily include the idea of abandoning, without a qualifying word. A man quits his house for an hour, or for a month. He quits his native country on a voyage, or he quits it forever; he quits an employment with the intention of resuming it.
2. To free; to clear; to liberate; to discharge from. To quit you of this fear, you have already looked death in the face. [Nearly obsolete.] – Wake.
3. To carry through; to do or perform something to the end, so that nothing remains; to discharge or perform completely. Never a worthy prince a day did quit With greater hazard and with more renown. – Daniel.
4. To quit one's self, reciprocally, to clear one's self of incumbent duties by full performance. Samson hath quit himself Like Samson. – Milton. In this sense, acquit is generally used.
5. To repay; to requite. – Spenser. Enkindle all the sparks of nature To quit this horrid act. – Shak. In this sense, quit is now rarely used. We use requite.
6. To vacate obligation; to release; to free from. Dangers of law, / Actions, degrees, judgments against us quitted. – B. Jonson.
7. To pay; to discharge; hence, to free from; as, to quit the debt of gratitude. – Milton.
8. To set free; to release; to absolve; to acquit. Guiltless I quit, guilty I set them free. – Fairfax. In this sense, acquit is now used.
9. To leave; to give up; to resign; to relinquish; as, to quit an office.
10. To pay. Before that judge that quits each soul his hire. [Not used.] – Fairfax.
11. To forsake; to abandon. Such a superficial way of examining is to quit truth for appearance. – Locke. To quit cost, to pay; to free from by an equivalent; to reimburse; as, the cultivation of barren land will not always quit cost. To quit scores, to make even; to clear mutually from demands by mutual equivalents given. We will quit scores [marks of charges] before we part. Does not the earth quit scores with all the elements in her noble fruits? – South.

QUI-TAM, n. [Qui tam; L.]

A qui tam action, in law, is a popular action, in which a man prosecutes an offender for the king or state, as well as for himself.

QUITCH'-GRASS, n. [properly quick-grass, probably from its vigorous growth, or the difficulty of eradicating it.]

Dog-grass; a species of grass which roots deeply and is not easily killed.

QUIT'CLAIM, n.

A deed of release; an instrument by which all claims to an estate are relinquished to another without any covenant or warranty, express or implied. – Z. Swift.

QUIT'CLAIM, v.t. [quit and claim.]

To release a claim by deed without covenants of warranty; to convey to another who hath some right in lands or tenements, all one's right, title and interest in the estate, by relinquishing all claim to them. The words used in the instrument are, “A. hath remised, released and forever quitclaimed all his right, title and interest to a certain estate.” Blackstone.

QUIT'CLAIM-ED, pp.

Released by deed.

QUIT'CLAIM-ING, ppr.

Conveying by deed of release.

QUITE, adv. [from quit; that is, primarily, free or clear by complete performance.]

Completely; wholly; entirely; totally; perfectly. The work is not quite done; the object is quite accomplished. He hath sold us and quite devoured also our money. Gen. xxxi. The same actions may be aimed at different ends, and arise from quite contrary principles. – Spectator.

QUIT'-RENT, n. [L. quietus reditus.]

A rent reserved in grants of land, by the payment of which the tenant is quieted or quit from all other service. – Blackstone.

QUITS, adv. [from quit.]

An exclamation used when mutual demands are adjusted and the parties are even, each quit of the other.

QUIT'TA-BLE, a.

That may be quitted or vacated. – Markland.

QUIT'TAL, n.

Return; repayment. – Shak.

QUIT'TANCE, n. [Fr.]

1. Discharge from a debt or obligation; an acquittance. [See Acquittance, which is chiefly used.] – Shak.
2. Recompense; return; repayment. – Shak.

QUIT'TANCE, v.t.

To repay. [Not in use.] – Shak.

QUIT'TED, pp.

Left; relinquished; acquitted.

QUIT'TER, n.

1. One who quits.
2. A deliverer. [Not in use.] – Ainsworth.
3. Scoria of tin. – Ainsworth.

QUIT'TER-BONE, n.

In farriery, a hard round swelling on the coronet, between the heel and the quarter, usually on the inside of the foot. – Far. Dict.

QUIV'ER, a.

Nimble; active. [Not in use.] – Shak.

QUIV'ER, n. [Qu. Fr. couvrir, to cover.]

A case or sheath for arrows. Take thy quiver and thy bow. – Gen. xxvii.

QUIV'ER, v.i. [D. huiveren, to shiver. This word seems to belong to the family of quaver, W. çwibiaw, to trill, to quiver, çwiv, a whirl or turn, çwiviaw, to fly about, to wander, çwipiaw, to move briskly, çwyvaw, to stir, move, agitate.]

1. To shake or tremble; to quake; to shudder; to shiver. This word expresses that tremulous motion of the body which proceeds from loss of heat or vigor. Thus persons quiver with fear or with cold. He quiver'd with his feet and lay for dead. – Dryden. And left the limbs still quiv'ring on the ground. – Addison.
2. To play or be agitated with a tremulous motion. The green leaves quiver with the cooling wind. – Shak. The lakes that quiver to the curling breeze. – Pope.

QUIV'ER-ED, a. [from the noun quiver.]

1. Furnished with a quiver; as, the quivered nymph. – Milton.
2. Sheathed as in a quiver. Whose quills stand quivered at his ear. – Pope.

QUIV'ER-ING, n.

The act of shaking or trembling; agitation; as to be seized with a quivering. – Sidney.