quaint- +

(Latin > Old French > Middle English: well known, skillful, neat, elegant)

This quaint- unit is directly related to this cogni- family of words.


acquaint, acquainting, acquainted
1. To make more or less familiar, to make aware, or to make conversant; to cause to come to know personally (usually followed by with): "We wanted to acquaint the mayor with our plan."
2. To furnish with knowledge; to inform (usually followed by with): "We tried to acquaint the manager with our findings."
3. To bring into social contact; to introduce; to make familiar (usually followed by with): She acquainted her roommate with my cousin.
acquaintable
Easy to be acquainted with; affable.
acquaintance, acquaintant
1. Knowledge of a person acquired by a relationship less intimate than friendship; a relationship based on such knowledge; a person known to one, but usually not a close friend. : "We struck up an acquaintance with our new neighbor."
2. A person whom one knows; the state of being acquainted.
3. Knowledge or information about something or someone; personal knowledge as a result of study, experience, etc.: "The man obviously has a passing acquaintance with Chinese history."
disacquaint
To render unacquainted; to make unfamiliar.
inacquaintance
Lacking an acquaintance; not acquainted with.
nonacquaintance
Lacking acquaintance; the state of being unacquainted.
preacquaint, preacquainted
To acquaint previously or beforehand.
preacquaintance
Previous acquaintance or knowledge.
quaint
1. Having an old-fashioned attractiveness or charm; oddly picturesque: "They saw a quaint old house during their travels."
2. Strange, peculiar; or unusual in an interesting, pleasing, or amusing way: "He was known to have a quaint sense of humor."
3. Unfamiliar or unusual in character; strange.
4. Skillfully or cleverly made; artful.
5. Obsolete: wise; skilled.
6. Etymology: from about 1225, "cunning, proud, ingenious", from Old French cointe, "pretty, clever, knowing"; from Latin cognitus, "known"; past participle of cognoscere "to get or to come to know well".

The sense of "old-fashioned but charming" is first attested to about 1795, and could describe the word itself, which had become rare after about 1700; although it soon recovered popularity in this secondary sense.

quaintly
1. In a quaint old-fashioned manner.
2. In a strange but not unpleasant manner.
quaintness
1. The quality of being quaint and old-fashioned: "She liked the old house because of its quaintness and appeal."
2. Strangeness as a consequence of being old fashioned: "Some of her childhood stories had a charming quaintness."
reacquaint
To acquaint again.
unacquaintance
The quality or state of being unacquainted; lacking acquaintance; ignorance.
unacquainted
1. Not acquainted.
2. Not usual; unfamiliar; not familiar or acquainted with another; strange.
3. Not informed or knowledgeable: "She was unacquainted with the legal issues at hand."
unacquaintedness
Unacquaintance, not acquainted.

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