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quirk

(kwûrk)

1. A peculiarity of behavior; an idiosyncrasy: "Every man had his own quirks and twists" (Harriet Beecher Stowe).

2. An unpredictable or unaccountable act or event; a vagary: a quirk of fate.

3. A sudden sharp turn or twist: a quirk of the head.

4. Architecture A lengthwise groove on a molding between the convex upper part and the soffit.

5. Archaic An equivocation; a quibble.

[Origin unknown.]

quirki·ly adv.

quirki·ness n.

quirky adj.

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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