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Q
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| Word | Definition |
| qanat | underground tunnel for carrying irrigation water |
| qasida | Arabic or Persian elegiac poem |
| qat | leaves chewed or brewed in tea as a stimulant |
| qawwali | fervent Muslim devotional music |
| qigong | system of Chinese meditational exercises |
| qintar | Albanian unit of currency |
| qiviut | wool of the undercoat of a musk-ox |
| qoph | a Hebrew letter |
| qua | in the capacity of |
| quab | something unfinished or immature; unfledged bird |
| quab | to throb; to quiver |
| quackle | to choke; to suffocate |
| quacksalver | one who falsely pretends to knowledge of medicine |
| quad | unit of energy equal to one quadrillion British thermal units |
| quadra | square frame; plinth |
| quadrable | capable of being expressed in a finite number of algebraic terms |
| quadragenarian | a person between 40 and 49 years of age |
| quadragesimal | of, like or pertaining to Lent; lasting forty days |
| quadragesimarian | one who observes Lent |
| quadragintesimal | forty-fold; having forty parts |
| quadral | in four parts |
| quadraphonic | produced by a sound system that employs four signal sources |
| quadrat | small square block used as a space in printing |
| quadratary | relating to a square |
| quadrate | to make square; to make to agree |
| quadratrix | a curve by which a circle may be squared |
| quadratura | wall or ceiling painted with arches and columns in strong perspective |
| quadrel | square block of brick |
| quadrennial | lasting four years; occurring once every four years |
| quadrennium | period of four years |
| quadrifid | split into four |
| quadrifoliate | having four leaves |
| quadriga | two-wheeled carriage drawn by four horses |
| quadrigeminal | in four similar or equal parts |
| quadrigenarious | comprising four hundred |
| quadrille | square dance for four couples; card game for four people |
| quadrilocular | having four compartments |
| quadrimium | four-year-old wine; best or oldest wine |
| quadringenarious | containing four hundred of something |
| quadripole | device having one pair of output terminals and one pair of input terminals |
| quadrireme | ancient ship with four sets of oars |
| quadrivial | leading in four directions; concerning a four-way junction |
| quadrivium | four branches of mathematics in medieval education |
| quadrivoltine | having four litters in a single year |
| quadrobulary | fourfold |
| quadroon | old term for a person of one-quarter black ancestry |
| quadrumanous | of the primates other than man |
| quadrupedation | stamping with four feet |
| quaedam | disparaging term for a woman |
| quaere | to introduce a question or issue |
| quaeritur | the question is asked |
| quaesitum | something sought for; the true value |
| quaestionary | religious pardoner |
| quaestor | ancient magistrate; a medieval pardoner |
| quaestuary | money-making; money-seeking; in business only for profit |
| quagga | extinct African wild ass like the zebra |
| quagma | hypothetical matter made up of quarks and gluons |
| quagswag | to shake to and fro |
| quahog | type of edible clam |
| quain | angle; wedge-like corner |
| quale | quality or property of something; abstract virtue or quality |
| qualificator | one who prepares ecclesiastical cases for trial |
| qualimeter | apparatus for measuring penetrating power of X-ray beams |
| qually | of wine, cloudy or turbid |
| qualtagh | first person encountered after leaving home on a special day |
| quamoclit | tropical climbing plant with brilliant flowers |
| quango | a quasi-autonomous non-governmental organization |
| quangocracy | rule of quasi-autonomous non-governmental organizations |
| quannet | flat file used like a plane |
| quant | punting or jumping pole with a flat end |
| quantile | any of a set of equal fractions of a given population |
| quantimeter | apparatus for measuring quantity of X-rays |
| quantivalence | chemical valence; ability of atoms to hold other atoms in combination |
| quantometer | instrument for measuring proportions of elements in metallic samples |
| quantophrenia | obsessive reliance on statistics and mathematical results |
| quantulate | to calculate the magnitude of |
| quantulum | small quantity |
| quantuplicity | relative magnitude of a quantity |
| quaquadrate | a sixteenth power |
| quaquaversal | facing or bending all ways |
| quarender | dark red apple |
| quaresimal | Lenten; having the meagreness of Lenten meals |
| quarion | candle |
| quark | soft cheese made from skim milk |
| quarkonium | meson formed of a quark and an anti-quark |
| quarl | large curved brick or tile used to support melting pot |
| quarred | soured; clotted |
| quarrelet | small square |
| quarrenden | variety of apple |
| quarrion | Australian parrot like the cockatiel |
| quartan | a fever recurring every third day |
| quartation | mixing one part gold with three parts silver prior to purifying it |
| quarter | unit of weight equal to 28 pounds |
| quarterdeck | part of ship's deck set aside by captain for ceremonial functions |
| quartering | sailing nearly before the wind |
| quarterland | ancient land division on the Isle of Man |
| quarterlight | small triangular ventilation window in a car |
| quartern | one quarter of various measures |
| quartic | a curve or equation of the fourth degree |
| quartinvariant | an invariant of the fourth degree |
| quartodeciman | early Christian who celebrated Easter on Passover even if not a Sunday |
| quartziferous | bearing quartz |
| quasi | as if; seemingly; in a manner |
| quasquicentennial | one hundred twenty-fifth anniversary |
| quassation | act of shaking or being shaken |
| quassia | tropical tree whose bark is used to make a bitter medicinal product |
| quat | a pimple; an insignificant person |
| quatch | a word; a sound |
| quatenus | in the capacity of; in so far as |
| quatern | arranged in fours |
| quaternion | any set of four things; quotient of two vectors expressed quadrinomially |
| quaternitarian | one who believes that God consists of four parts |
| quaternity | fourness; any group of four things |
| quatint | engraving using nitric acid |
| quatorzain | piece of verse having fourteen lines; a sonnet |
| quatrain | stanza of four lines of verse |
| quatrayle | great-great-great grandfather |
| quatrefoil | four-petalled flower; design or ornament with four flowers or leaves |
| quatridual | lasting for four days |
| quatsch | nonsense |
| quattrocentism | style of art of the fifteenth century in Italy |
| quattrocento | the fifteenth century; Italian art and architecture of that period |
| quatuorvirate | a body of four men |
| quaviver | fish otherwise known as the sea-dragon or dragonet |
| quawk | black-crowned night heron |
| queach | a thicket |
| quean | lewd woman; hussy; woman of bad character |
| queem | protected from the wind |
| queenite | a queen's partisan |
| queenright | of a colony of social insects, having a queen |
| quelch | to squelch |
| quelea | an African weaver-bird |
| quellio | a Spanish ruff |
| quena | vertical bamboo flute used in the Andes |
| quenelle | poached meat dumpling |
| quenouille | concerning the training of trees into cone-like shape |
| quercetum | plantation of oak trees |
| quercine | of, like or pertaining to oak trees |
| quercitron | yellowish pigment derived from bark of a variety of oak |
| querencia | part of a bullfighting arena where the bull makes his stand |
| querent | one who asks a question |
| querical | of the nature of queries |
| querimonious | full of complaints |
| querimony | complaint |
| querist | inquirer |
| querken | to stifle; to suffocate |
| querl | to twist; to curl |
| quern | stone mill worked by hand |
| querquedule | pin-tail duck; a teal |
| quersprung | in skiing, a jump-turn at right angles |
| querulist | one who complains |
| querulous | complaining; peevish |
| quesited | sought for; asked about |
| questmonger | one whose occupation is to conduct inquests |
| quetsch | dark-skinned oval plum; liqueur made from such plums |
| quetzal | gold and green bird with long tail feathers |
| quevée | in heraldry, having a tail |
| queyock | heifer |
| quich | to stir; to move |
| quicken | mountain ash tree |
| quickhatch | wolverine |
| quicklime | calcium oxide |
| quickset | formed of living plants arranged in place |
| quicksilver | old name for mercury |
| quickstep | fast march-like dance |
| quicksticks | without delay |
| quicquidlibet | whatever one pleases; anything whatsoever |
| quid | a cut or wad or something chewable |
| quidam | a certain person; somebody |
| quiddany | jelly or thick syrup made from sweetened quince juice |
| quidder | animal that lets half-chewed food drop from its mouth |
| quidditative | quirky; eccentric |
| quiddity | unique essence; eccentricity |
| quiddle | a fastidious person |
| quidlibet | minor or trifling point of an argument |
| quidnunc | busybody; one keenly interested in gossip |
| quidsworth | able to be bought for one pound |
| quietation | the action of quieting a person or persons |
| quietism | doctrine of enlightenment through mental tranquility |
| quietus | discharge from life; extinction; death; silencing |
| quiety | silence; tranquility |
| quiff | puff or gust of wind |
| quiff | tuft of hair brushed away from the forehead; oiled lock of hair |
| quillaia | South American tree whose bark is used to make soap |
| quillet | subtle point in argument; a quibble |
| quilling | strip or ribbon gathered into flutings |
| quillon | arm of the cross-guard of a sword handle |
| quilombo | remote settlement where fugitive slaves hide |
| quinarian | advocate of the division of lifeforms into groups of five classes |
| quinary | based on the number five |
| quincaillerie | hardware store |
| quince | orange-coloured, pear-shaped fruit |
| quinceañera | celebration of a girl's fifteenth birthday |
| quinch | to wince |
| quincunx | five things with four at corners and one in middle |
| quincurion | leader of five men |
| quindecad | set of fifteen things |
| quindecagon | plane figure having fifteen sides |
| quindecasyllabic | having fifteen syllables |
| quindene | fourteenth day after a holy festival |
| quinella | bet predicting first and second-place finishers, in either order |
| quingenarious | relating to the number five hundred |
| quingentenary | five-hundredth anniversary |
| quingentumvirate | government by five hundred individuals |
| quinible | high-pitched voice; a musical part pitched very high |
| quiniferous | yielding quinine |
| quinimetry | measurement of amount of quinine in bark |
| quinism | pathological state resulting from excessive use of quinine |
| quink | a grey goose |
| quinnat | the king salmon |
| quinnet | wedge |
| quinoa | grain seeds of the goosefoot plant |
| quinology | study of quinine |
| quinquadrate | a thirty-second power of a number |
| quinquagenarian | person between the ages of 40 and 49 |
| quinquagesimal | belonging to a set of fifty |
| quinquefarious | arranged in five rows |
| quinquennium | period of five years |
| quinquesect | to divide into five parts |
| quinquiplicate | to multiply by five |
| quinsell | horse's rein |
| quinsy | old disease like tonsilitis |
| quintain | post for tilting with turning cross-piece |
| quintal | unit of weight equal to 100 kilograms |
| quintant | device like a sextant for making astronomical observations |
| quinternion | set of five sheets of paper |
| quintessence | the most essential part or embodiment of something |
| quintic | of the fifth order or degree |
| quinticlave | upright brass-wind instrument like a keyed bugle |
| quinton | five-stringed tenor viol |
| quintroon | old term for someone who is of 1/16 black descent |
| quinzaine | piece of verse having fifteen lines |
| quinzhee | snow shelter with domed chamber dug into it |
| quippery | the act or art of making quips |
| quipu | knotted cords used as Inca mnemonic device |
| quire | unit of 24 sheets of paper |
| quirister | a chorister |
| quiritary | in accordance with Roman civil law |
| quiritation | complaining; lamentation |
| quiritian | a Roman citizen |
| quirly | hand-rolled cigarette |
| quirt | short-handled riding whip |
| quisby | an idler; suspicious or odd |
| quisle | to betray |
| quisling | one who aids the enemy; a puppet leader supported by foreign power |
| quisquilious | made of rubbish |
| quisquous | perplexing; difficult to deal with |
| quitch | a kind of wild grass |
| quitclaim | deed relinquishing a claim, such as a mining title |
| quiteron | superconducting device similar to a transistor |
| quitrent | small nominal rent paid to commute feudal service |
| quittance | release from a debt or obligation; a document expressing such a release |
| quitter | pus; suppurating discharge |
| quixotic | extravagantly and romantically chivalrous; idealistic |
| quixotism | idealistic or quixotic principles or beliefs |
| quizzacious | satirical |
| quoad | with respect to; as regards |
| quob | to throb; to quiver |
| quod | prison |
| quoddamodotative | existing in a certain manner |
| quoddity | subtle quibble or point of argument |
| quodlibet | philosophical argument of disputation; humorous medley |
| quodlibetificate | to quibble with |
| quoiceneck | grey iridescent shale |
| quoin | a wedge; salient angle of a building; cornerstone |
| quoit | heavy flat ring thrown over pin in a game like horseshoes |
| quokka | short-tailed wallaby |
| quoll | native cat-like marsupial of Australia |
| quomodocunquize | to make money in any way possible |
| quondam | former; sometime; formerly |
| quoniam | female genitals |
| quop | to writhe; to pulsate; to undulate |
| quorate | having or being a quorum |
| quotannal | annual |
| quotatious | tending to quote; given to quoting |
| quotennial | yearly |
| quotha | expression of surprise or contempt |
| quotidian | everyday; commonplace |
| quotiety | number; numerical relationship |
| quotition | a division regarded as a repeated subtraction |
| quotity | proportion |
| quotum | a number considered in its proportion to a larger number |
| quotuple | what multiple |
| quoz | absurd person or thing |
| qursh | currency of Saudi Arabia equal to 1/20 of a rial |
I hope you have found this site to be useful. If you have any corrections, additions, or comments, please contact me. Please note that I am not able to respond to all requests. Please consult a major dictionary before e-mailing your query. All material on this page © 1996-2021 Stephen Chrisomalis. Links to this page may be made without permission.