quirk

Noun · Verb
Synonyms: oddityqueernessquirkinesscrotchet

WordNet 3.0

Noun (2)

  1. a strange attitude or habitSynonyms: oddityqueernessquirkinesscrotchet
  2. a narrow groove beside a beading

Verb (1)

  1. twist or curve abruptly“She quirked her head in a peculiar way”
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Webster's Dictionary (GCIDE)

Quirk \Quirk\ (kw[~e]rk), n. [Written also querk.] [Cf. W. chwiori to turn briskly, or E. queer.]

1.A sudden turn; a starting from the point or line; hence, an artful evasion or subterfuge; a shift; a quibble; as, the quirks of a pettifogger. "Some quirk or . . . evasion." --Spenser. [1913 Webster]

We ground the justification of our nonconformity on dark subtilties and intricate quirks.— Barrow.[1913 Webster]

2.A fit or turn; a short paroxysm; a caprice. [Obs.] "Quirks of joy and grief." --Shak. [1913 Webster]

3.A smart retort; a quibble; a shallow conceit. [1913 Webster]

Some odd quirks and remnants of wit.— Shak.[1913 Webster]

4.An irregular air; as, light quirks of music. --Pope. [1913 Webster]

5.(Building) A piece of ground taken out of any regular ground plot or floor, so as to make a court, yard, etc.; -- sometimes written quink. --Gwilt. [1913 Webster]

6.(Arch.) A small channel, deeply recessed in proportion to its width, used to insulate and give relief to a convex rounded molding. [1913 Webster]

Quirk molding, a bead between two quirks. [1913 Webster]

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