A Dictionary of the Older Scottish Tongue (up to 1700)
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First published 1990 (DOST Vol. VII).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Quotation dates: 1596-1630
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Quiknes, n. Also: quike-. [e.m.E. quickness etc., ME qwiknesse, quyknes(se (Chaucer), cwicnesse (Ancr. R.).] Liveliness, alertness; keenness, acuteness (of intellect, also of scent); ‘brightness’, smartness, wit (in discourse or writing). — 1596 Dalr. I 118/26.
Quhen our elderis, throuch quiknes of thair ingine perceiued perfytlie … the dissolute maneris of thair people 1596 Ib. II 45/3.
Equal in quiknes, grauitie, and prudencie, to the alde poetes 1596 Ib. 59/25. 1598 James VI Basil. Doron 180/3.
Lett the greatest pairt of youre eloquence consiste in a naturall … forme of the deliuerie of youre mynde … tempering it uith grauitie, quikenes or mirrienes according to the subiect a1599 Rollock Wks. II 514. 1630 Misc. Hist. Soc. II 264.
The quiknes of your sent … is a very quik sent for you heve fund out [etc.]
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"Quiknes n.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 6 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/dost/quiknes>
