English - Etymology 1
A development of _quit_, influence by Anglo-Norman _quite_.
PRONUNCIATION
* (UK) IPA(key): /kwaɪt/
* Rhymes: -aɪt
ADVERB
QUITE (_not comparable_)
* (heading) _To the greatest extent or degree; completely, entirely._
* With verbs, especially past participles. [from 14thc.]
* 1590, Edmund Spenser, _The Faerie Queene_, Book I:
Thus when they had the witch disrobed QUIGHT, / And all her filthy feature open showne, / They let her goe at will, and wander wayes vnknowne.
* 2005, Adrian Searle, _The Guardian_, 4 October:
Nobuyoshi Araki has been called a monster, a pornographer and a genius - and the photographer QUITE agrees.
* With prepositional phrases and spatial adverbs. [from 15thc.]
* 1891, Thomas Nelson Page, _On Newfound River_:
Margaret passed QUITE through the pines, and reached the opening beyond which was what was once the yard, but was now, except for a strip of flower-border and turf which showed care, simply a tangle of bushes and briars.
* 2010, Joanna Briscoe, _The Guardian_, 30 October:
Religion and parochial etiquette are probed to reveal unhealthy, and sometimes shockingly violent, internal desires QUITE at odds with the surface life of a town in which tolerance is preached.
* With predicative adjectives. [from 15thc.]
* 1914, Edgar Rice Burroughs, _The Son of Tarzan_:
El Adrea was QUITE dead. No more will he slink silently upon his unsuspecting prey.
* 1992, Rudolf M. Schuster, _The Hepaticae and Anthocerotae of North America: East of the Hundredth Meridian_, volume V, page 5:
In Lejeuneaceae vegetative branches normally originate from the basiscopic basal portion of a lateral segment half, as in the Radulaceae, and the associated leaves, therefore, are QUITE unmodified.
* With attributive adjectives, following an (especially indefinite) article; chiefly as expressing contrast, difference etc. [from 16thc.]
* 2003, Richard Dawkins, _A Devil's Chaplain_:
When I warned him that his words might be offensive to identical twins, he said that identical twins were a QUITE different case.
* 2011, Peter Preston, _The Observer_, 18 September:
Create a new, QUITE separate, private company – say Murdoch Newspaper Holdings – and give it all, or most of, the papers that News Corp owns.
* Preceding nouns introduced by the indefinite article. Chiefly in negative constructions. [from 16thc.]
* 1791, James Boswell, _Life of Samuel Johnson_:
I ventured to hint that he was not QUITE a fair judge, as Churchill had attacked him violently.
* 1920, John Galsworthy, _In Chancery_:
And with a prolonged sound, not QUITE a sniff and not QUITE a snort, he trod on Euphemia's toe, and went out, leaving a sensation and a faint scent of barley−sugar behind him.
* With adverbs of manner. [from 17thc.]
* 2009, John F. Schmutz, _The Battle of the Crater: A complete history_:
However, the proceedings were QUITE carefully orchestrated to produce what seemed to be a predetermined outcome.
* 2011, Bob Burgess, _The Guardian_, 18 October:
Higher education institutions in the UK are, QUITE rightly, largely autonomous.
* (heading) _In a fully justified sense; truly, perfectly, actually._
* Coming before the indefinite article and an attributive adjective. (Now largely merged with moderative senses, below.) [from 17thc.]
* 1898, Charles Gavrice, _Nell of Shorne Mills_:
"My little plot has been rather successful, after all, hasn't it?" "QUITE a perfect success," said Drake.
* 2001, Paul Brown, _The Guardian_, 7 February:
While the government claims to lead the world with its plans to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, the figures tell QUITE a different story.
* With plain adjectives, past participles, and adverbs. [from 18thc.]
* 1908, W. B. M. Ferguson, _Zollenstein_, chapterIV:
“My
A development of quit, influence by Anglo-Norman quite.
-
(UK) IPA(key): /kwaɪt/
- Rhymes: -aɪt
quite (not comparable)
-
(heading) To the greatest extent or degree; completely, entirely.
-
With verbs, especially past participles. [from 14thc.]
-
1590, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene, Book I:
-
Thus when they had the witch disrobed quight, / And all her filthy feature open showne, / They let her goe at will, and wander wayes vnknowne.
-
2005, Adrian Searle, The Guardian, 4 October:
-
Nobuyoshi Araki has been called a monster, a pornographer and a genius - and the photographer quite agrees.
-
With prepositional phrases and spatial adverbs. [from 15thc.]
-
1891, Thomas Nelson Page, On Newfound River:
-
Margaret passed quite
through the pines, and reached the opening beyond which was what was once the yard, but was now, except for a strip of flower-border and turf which showed care, simply a tangle of bushes and briars.
-
2010, Joanna Briscoe, The Guardian, 30 October:
-
Religion and parochial
etiquette are probed to reveal unhealthy, and sometimes shockingly violent, internal desires quite at odds with the surface life of a town in which tolerance is preached.
-
With predicative adjectives. [from
15thc.]
-
1914, Edgar Rice Burroughs,
The Son of Tarzan:
-
El Adrea was quite dead. No more will he slink silently upon his unsuspecting prey.
-
1992, Rudolf M. Schuster, The Hepaticae and Anthocerotae of North America: East of the Hundredth Meridian, volume V, page 5:
-
In Lejeuneaceae vegetative
branches normally originate from the basiscopic basal portion of a lateral segment
half, as in the Radulaceae,
and the associated leaves, therefore, are quite unmodified.
-
With attributive adjectives, following an (especially indefinite) article; chiefly as expressing contrast, difference etc. [from 16thc.]
-
2003, Richard Dawkins, A Devil's Chaplain:
-
When I warned him that his words might be offensive to identical twins, he said that identical twins were a quite different case.
-
2011, Peter Preston, The Observer, 18 September:
-
Create a new, quite separate, private company – say Murdoch Newspaper Holdings – and give it all, or most of, the papers that News Corp owns.
-
Preceding nouns introduced by the indefinite article. Chiefly in negative constructions. [from 16thc.]
-
With adverbs of manner. [from 17thc.]
-
(heading) In a
fully justified sense; truly, perfectly, actually.
-
Coming before the indefinite article and an attributive adjective. (Now largely merged with moderative senses, below.) [from 17thc.]
-
With plain adjectives, past participles, and adverbs. [from 18thc.]