quite

Question

English - Alternative Forms

quight (obsolete)

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.