Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. Scots A two-handled drinking cup.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. See quaigh.
Wiktionary
- n. obsolete A traditional, shallow, two-handled Scottish cup symbolising friendship. It was originally used to toast the arrival or departure of a visitor.
Etymologies
- Scottish Gaelic cuach, from Old Irish cúach, from earlier cuäch. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“He had brought a cup, formed from a gourd, which answered the purpose of a "quaich," as it is called in Scotland; and we made our way down to the edge of the stream, where he could dip out a cupful.”
“Turning, Colum picked up a silver quaich from its place on the tartan-covered table behind him.”
“There was a lessening of the tension over the hall, and almost an audible sigh of relief in the gallery as Colum drank from the quaich and offered it to Jamie.”
“It was a custom to offer a welcome or farewell drink, usually whisky, in a quaich to a guest.”
“We received this Scottish Cup of Friendship also known as quaiche or quaich as a wedding gift.”
“The quaich is used as a favour at many Scottish weddings, being presented to all at the top table, at christenings to celebrate the new life or gifted to friends as a symbol of friendship.”
“It is said that water drunk from a silver quaich tastes crisp due to the clearing effect of silver.”
“The guest reciprocates the gesture by drinking the whisky from the quaich and thus expressing his bond of friendship to the host.”
““Quaich-quaich,” from their strange loud voice, which seems to repeat these words in various and not unmelodious intonations.”
“I let him run on in this key till we came to the change-house of a widow -- one Fraser -- and as she curtsied at the door, and asked if the braw gentlemen would favour her poor parlour, we went in and tossed a quaich or two of aqua, to which end she set before us a little brown bottle and two most cunningly contrived and carven cups made of the”
John Splendid The Tale of a Poor Gentleman, and the Little Wars of Lorn
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘quaich’.
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Q words
Ever get stuck with the random bunch of letters and a q and not know any words? Well, maybe this will help.
quire, quais, quai, queer, quoit, quitrent, quipster, question, quest, questing, quests, quit and 208 more...
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Good ol' qu-
quag, quagga, quaff, querulous, quorum, sesquipedalian, quibble, quip, aquiline, quote, quotationist, quoter and 29 more...
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Quantum...Qualtum
words of the Qn & Ql ...words of the near, pfearless future
quaich, quadrivial, quagga, quair, quaestor, quaigh, quaked, qualmn, qualming, quantong, quantal, qualtal and 19 more...
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Under The Kilt
Anything related to Scottish culture, cuisine, language, history and so on. Does not include Gaelic words unless acceptable (roughly speaking!) in a wider sense.
brae, machair, loch, burn, inverness, shieling, camanachd, shinty, diddy, bhoy, ghillie, brownie and 393 more...
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Outlander series words
A place for me to keep words I found (or found anew) while reading Diana Gabaldon's Outlander series. (Culling my enormous "Learned (or Encountered) in Reading" list.)
gralloch, yeuk, corpse-candle, saprophytic, baldachin, Kermanshah, celandine, tynchal, quaich, mesentery, basidium, dittany and 244 more...
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discoveries
These are lexical items new to me that I've discovered in actual use (i.e. not in dictionaries, lists, or this site).
Looking back over this list, I haven't the slightest idea what mos...haymow, hawsepipe, stridor, bariatric, autotelic, apotropaic, cyanotype, tourelle, autobody, zudecca, stifado, corbeille and 1073 more...
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Wordie/Wordnik Curio Cabinet
Oddments culled from my "main" lists that belong in a display cabinet of their own, plus sundry other curiosities. :-)
zeugma, ziggurat, xiphoid, xeric, whizgigging, whangdoodle, viviparous, vivific, vinolent, verjuice, vellicate, velleity and 1193 more...
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Scottish Food and Drink Words
haggis, neep, tatty, cranachan, crowdie, crowdie-time, Scotch broth, Scotch egg, cock-a-leekie, cockieleekie, skirlie, collop and 20 more...
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'Wasted' Words
Alcohol-related words that tickle the ear & the fancy
absinthe, ambrosial, Bordeaux, burgundy, bibulous, wineskin, champagne, claret, corkscrew, drip dickey, frizzante, flagon and 74 more...
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Nifty Misc
rechauffe, merrythought, fossick, flacon, douceur, prandial, barbican, chuffed, whinge, bumf, knackered, ponce and 37 more...
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My Cup Runneth Over
Drinking vessels.
cup, teacup, sippy cup, paper cup, beaker, glass, drinking glass, filigree-glass, wineglass, shot glass, tumbler, deepsinker and 50 more...
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Food and Drink
And all things pertaining.
vittle, tine, piss, mingo, abstemious, tisane, cornucopia, tipple, wassail, decoct, corpulent, stout and 19 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for quaich.
qroqqa On the other side of the world,
you pass the moon to me,
like a loving cup,
or a quaich.
—Carol Ann Duffy, 'World' Aug 20, 2010
chained_bear "Turning, Colum picked up a silver quaich from its place on the tartan-covered table behind him. He lifted the heavy eared cup with both hands, drank from it, and offered it to Dougal."
—Diana Gabaldon, Outlander (NY: Delacorte Press, 1991), 187 Jan 2, 2010