Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary · 1913

Quirk

Quirk (kwẽrk) , noun

[Compare Welsh chwiori to turn briskly, or English queer.]

1.
A sudden turn; a starting from the point or line; hence, an artful evasion or subterfuge; a shift; a quibble; as, the quirks of a pettifogger.
Some quirk or... evasion. — Spenser
We ground the justification of our nonconformity on dark subtilties and intricate quirks. — Barrow
2.
A fit or turn; a short paroxysm; a caprice. [Obsolete]
Quirks of joy and grief. — Shakespeare
3.
A smart retort; a quibble; a shallow conceit.
Some odd quirks and remnants of wit. — Shakespeare
4.
An irregular air; as, light quirks of music. — Pope
5.
(Building) A piece of ground taken out of any regular ground plot or floor, so as to make a court, yard, etc.; -- sometimes written quink. — Gwilt
6.
(Architecture) A small channel, deeply recessed in proportion to its width, used to insulate and give relief to a convex rounded molding.
Collocations (1)
Quirk molding , a bead between two quirks.