quaint

B2 Topic:Describing Qualities

US /kweɪnt/ UK /kweɪnt/ See IPA manual

adj

Meanings

1

adj
attractively unusual or old-fashioned

The quaint cottage was a charming sight in the village.
2

adj
strange or unusual in an interesting or amusing way

His quaint sense of humor always made her smile.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · attractively unusual or... picturesque whimsicalold-worldvintage

2 adj · strange or unusual in an... quirky eccentric peculiar curiousoffbeat

Opposites

modern ordinary commonplace

Word family

Forms quaintlyquaintness

Etymology

From Old French coint ('clever, agreeable'), via Middle English queinte ('elegant, clever'), giving Modern English quaint ('charmingly unusual or old-fashioned').

Topics

Describing Qualities

# quaint

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B2
**Part of speech:** adj
**IPA (US):** kweɪnt
**IPA (UK):** kweɪnt

## Meanings
1. attractively unusual or old-fashioned
2. strange or unusual in an interesting or amusing way

## Examples
- The quaint cottage was a charming sight in the village.
- His quaint sense of humor always made her smile.

## Synonyms
- picturesque
- whimsical
- old-world
- vintage
- quirky
- eccentric
- peculiar
- curious
- offbeat

## Antonyms
- modern
- ordinary
- commonplace

## Etymology
From Old French coint ('clever, agreeable'), via Middle English queinte ('elegant, clever'), giving Modern English quaint ('charmingly unusual or old-fashioned').

## AI Etymology
Quaint comes from Old French coint ('clever, agreeable'), via Middle English queinte ('elegant, clever'), giving Modern English quaint ('charmingly unusual or old-fashioned'). In current use it is an adjective meaning "attractively unusual or old-fashioned". That sense is explained by the older material without requiring a speculative semantic step: the inherited or borrowed base supplies the field of meaning, while the English formation fixes its modern role. The history is mainly one of transmission into English, with the older form and sense carried through borrowing or adaptation. For dictionary purposes, the important point is the continuity between the older form, the route into English, and the present lexical sense.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities

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quaint

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