English
quaint
Quaint comes from Middle English queynte ‘adept, competent, well-taught’, from Latin cognōscō ‘to know’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ǵneh₃- ‘to recognise’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵneh₃-1‘to recognise’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵn̥h₃sḱéti1‘to recognise’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*gnōskō1‘to know, get to know’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEgnōscō1‘to know’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcognōscō2‘to know’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcognitus2past participle of cognōscō
- Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400cointe2
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500queynte2‘adept, competent, well-taught’
- Englishearliest quotation 1590quaint2
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Latin cognosco
- 2 Wiktionary, English quaint
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1590, Edmund Spenser, Book III, Canto VII: “She, nothing quaint / Nor 'sdeignfull of so homely…”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵneh₃-Wiktionary, Latin cognosco‘to recognise’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵn̥h₃sḱétiWiktionary, Latin cognosco‘to recognise’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*gnōskōWiktionary, Latin cognosco‘to know, get to know’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEgnōscōWiktionary, Latin cognosco‘to know’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcognōscōWiktionary, English quaint‘to know’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcognitusWiktionary, English quaintpast participle of cognōscō
- Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400cointeWiktionary, English quaint
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500queynteWiktionary, English quaint‘adept, competent, well-taught’
- Englishearliest quotation 1590quaintWiktionary, English quaint. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1590, Edmund Spenser, Book III, Canto VII: “She, nothing quaint / Nor 'sdeignfull of so homely…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *ǵneh₃- ‘to recognise’
can, know, could, normal, ignore, recognition, narrative, glory, con, ken, keen, norm, ignorant, prognosis, narration, cunning, canny, connoisseur, uncouth, canna, kith, gnosis, recognizance, cun, 84 more
through Proto-Indo-European *ǵn̥h₃sḱéti ‘to recognise’
diagnostic, gnome, agnostic, 40 more
through Proto-Italic *gnōskō ‘to know, get to know’
denote, annotation, noblesse, ignoble, 34 more
through Latin gnōscō ‘to know’
note, notice, noble, notion, notorious, notation, nobility, notoriety, notary, annotate, 34 more
through Latin cognōscō ‘to know’
recognize, cognizance, precognition, 14 more
through Latin cognitus
Today it means
adj Of a person: cunning, crafty.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “quaint”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin cognosco. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *ǵneh₃- / quaint