quaint
英 [kweɪnt]
美 [kwent]
- adj. 古雅的；奇怪的；离奇有趣的；做得很精巧的
助记提示
1. It comes from cognitus 'known'. The word's meaning evolved via the notion of someone who 'knows' about something ("get or come to know well"), and hence is an expert at it or is skilful in doing it;
2. and came to mean 'skilled, expert, clever, finely or skilfully made'; this led later to the notion of being skilfully made or elegant, which eventually degenerated into 'agreeably curious, pleasantly curious'.
3. => elaborate, skillfully made; strange and clever; old-fashioned but charming.
4. q -> g, => quai => guai => 怪的拼音 => 古怪啊，古怪的。
中文词源
quaint 古色古香的来自古法语cointe,优雅的，精致的，来自拉丁语cognitus,知道，知晓，词源同know,cognizance.引申词义古色古香的，有古味的。
英文词源
- quaint
- quaint: [13] Quaint was once a more wholehearted term of approval than it is now. In Middle English it meant ‘clever’ or ‘finely or skilfully made’. Its current sense ‘pleasantly curious’ did not emerge until the 18th century. It comes via Old French coint from Latin cognitus ‘known’, the past participle of cognōscere ‘know’ (source of English recognize). The word’s meaning evolved in Old French via the notion of someone who ‘knows’ about something, and hence is an expert at it or is skilful in doing it.
=> cognition, recognize - quaint (adj.)
- c. 1200, cointe, "cunning, ingenious; proud," from Old French cointe "knowledgeable, well-informed; clever; arrogant, proud; elegant, gracious," from Latin cognitus "known, approved," past participle of cognoscere "get or come to know well" (see cognizance). Modern spelling is from early 14c.
Later in English, "elaborate, skillfully made" (c. 1300); "strange and clever" (mid-14c.). Sense of "old-fashioned but charming" is first attested 1795, and could describe the word itself, which had become rare after c. 1700 (though it soon recovered popularity in this secondary sense). Related: Quaintly; quaintness.
双语例句
- 1. Boppard is a small, quaint town with narrow streets.
- 博帕德是一个有着许多深巷窄道、古香古色的小镇。
来自柯林斯例句
- 2. a quaint seaside village
- 古朴典雅的海滨村庄
来自《权威词典》
- 3. There were many small lanes in the quaint village.
- 在这古香古色的村庄里,有很多小巷.
来自《简明英汉词典》
- 4. The piano has a quaint old - world tone about it.
- 这架钢琴的音色具有一种古雅的 老式 风味.
来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
- 5. They still keep some quaint old customs.
- 他们仍然保留着一些稀奇古怪的旧风俗.
来自《简明英汉词典》