DictionaryAI

quaint

KWAYNT/kweɪnt/

Formsquainter, quaintest

6 meanings of quaint

Practice

  1. 1
    charmingadjective
    Pleasant and a little unusual, often in a charming, old-fashioned way.

    We stayed in a quaint little town by the sea.

    My grandma has a quaint habit of writing letters by hand.

    UsageUsually kind: a quaint little town. About ideas, as in a quaint idea, it can sound a bit mocking.

    Similarcharming, picturesque, old-fashioned

    Note
  2. 2
    strangeadjective
    Different from what is normal in a strange way.

    He has the quaint idea that cats can tell the future.

    She had the quaint belief that the moon followed her car.

    Similarstrange, odd, peculiar, curious

    Oppositenormal, ordinary, usual

    Note
  3. 3
    cleverly madeadjectiveobsolete
    Made or planned in a clever and skillful way.
    Note

Less common meanings

  1. 4
    adjectiveobsolete
    Much too fussy about small things, or too proper.
    Note
  2. 5
    craftyadjectiveobsolete
    Describing a person who is clever and good at tricking others.
    But you, my Lord, were glad to be imploy'd, / To shew how queint an Orator you are.
    1591, William Shakespeare, “The Second Part of Henry the Sixt,”Here, queint means sly and clever, good at tricky speaking.
    Note
  3. 6
    nounobsoletehistorical
    The outer sex organs of a female body.
    The rest looked on, horrified, as Clarice trussed up her habit and in open view placed her hand within her queynte crying, ‘The first house of Sunday belongs to the sun, and the second to Venus.’
    2003, Peter Ackroyd, The Clerkenwell TalesHere, queynte refers to a woman's private parts, her vulva.
    Note

Practice

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Origin

From an old French word meaning "pretty" or "clever," which came from a Latin word meaning "known."

Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 3 facts