different between quirk vs quirn

English

Etymology

First attested in the 1540s. Of uncertain origin.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /kw??k/
• Rhymes: -??(r)k

Noun

quirk (plural quirks)

1. an idiosyncrasy; a slight glitch, mannerism; something unusual about the manner or style of something or someone

   The car steers cleanly, but the gearshift has a few quirks.

2. (architecture) An acute angle dividing a molding; a groove that runs lengthwise between the upper part of a moulding and a soffit
3. (archaic) A quibble, evasion, or subterfuge.

   • Had you no quirk / To avoid gullage, sir, by such a creature?

Derived terms

• quirkish
• quirkless
• quirks mode
• quirky

Translations

Verb

quirk (third-person singular simple present quirks, present participle quirking, simple past and past participle quirked)

1. (transitive, intransitive) To move with a wry jerk.

   He quirked an eyebrow.

   The corners of her mouth quirked.

2. (transitive, architecture) To furnish with a quirk or channel.
3. (intransitive, archaic) To use verbal tricks or quibbles
   • 1820, Percy Bysshe Shelley, Oedipus Tyrannus; Or, Swellfoot The Tyrant: A Tragedy in Two Acts:

     I have stung her and wrung her,
     The venom is working;—
     And if you had hung her
     With canting and quirking,
     She could not be deader than she will be soon

English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kw??(?)n/
• Rhymes: -??(?)n

Noun

quirn (plural quirns)

1. Alternative spelling of quern

Quotations

• "And grind it without quirn or mill." extracted from the Elfin Knight.

References

• http://www.hydroponicsearch.com/spelling/simplesearch/query_term-quern/database-gcide/strategy-exact (Saturday September 1, 2007)
• http://www.springthyme.co.uk/ballads/balladtexts/02_ElfinKnight.html (Saturday September 1, 2007)