Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. An arrangement of five objects with one at each corner of a rectangle or square and one at the center.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. An arrangement of five objects in a square, one at each corner and one in the middle (thus, ); especially, an arrangement, as of trees, in such squares continuously. A collection of trees in such squares forms a regular grove or wood, presenting parallel rows or alleys in different directions, according to the spectator's position. See diagram under quincuncial.
- n. In botany, same as quincuncial estivation (which see, under quincuncial).
- n. In astrology, the position of planets when distant from each other five signs or 150°.
- n. A Roman brass coin of five unciæ.
- n. A reliquary in the shape of a cross, the four parts of which can be folded over the central one.
Wiktionary
- n. An arrangement of five units in a pattern corresponding to the five-spot on dice, playing cards, or dominoes.
- n. astrology An angle of five-twelfths of a circle, or 150°, between two objects.
- n. A bronze coin minted during the Roman Republic, valued at five-twelfths of an as.
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. An arrangement of things by fives in a square or a rectangle, one being placed at each corner and one in the middle; especially, such an arrangement of trees repeated indefinitely, so as to form a regular group with rows running in various directions.
- n. (Astrol.) The position of planets when distant from each other five signs, or 150°.
- n. (Bot.) A quincuncial arrangement, as of the parts of a flower in æstivation. See Quincuncial, 2.
Etymologies
- From Latin quincunx (Wiktionary)
- Latin quīncūnx, quīncūnc-, five twelfths : quīnque, five; see penkwe in Indo-European roots + ūncia, twelfth part of a unit; see ounce1. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“There is also one extra division of 150 degrees, the quincunx, which is an aspect of change.”
“Others plant them in form of a quincunx, which is better for the hop, and will do very well where your ground is but small that you may overcome it with either the breast plough or spade. ”
“The Galton board, also known as a quincunx or bean machine, is a device for statistical experiments named after English scientist Sir Francis Galton.”
“Joystiq, a Terminal Reality spokesperson said: "For the record, the PS3 version is softer due to the 'quincunx' antialiasing filter and the fact we render at about 75% the resolution of the 360 version.”
“He's the fellow who does our Face-Off features and compiles bonkers articles about individual BioShock frames, incidentally, and to whom words such as "quincunx" mean something.”
“There was a quincunx of springs, the waters of which were believed by many to be a cure for a multiplicity of ills, to be found in the shrine in the centre of the town and, beyond the locks of the river (which flowed east, to the city of Landward), were the parlours of the wonder-workers.”
“On October 4, Venus and Jupiter meet up in a quirky quincunx, offering us the opportunity to gain perspective on society, self-worth and our ability to give and receive love.”
“The Venus-Neptune quincunx urges us to bring our ideals into reality instead of deluding ourselves with our old fantasies.”
“October 9, Venus opposes Uranus and makes a quirky quincunx to Neptune.”
“The southwest tower of the quincunx is visible at left with the south library of the third level just visible behind the tower.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘quincunx’.
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Test Prep or Just for fun
Building a list for standardized test prep or just for learning some new words! Please add any words that you feel are important for the SAT/GRE/GMAT etc...
throng, morass, parley, facile, kismet, strife, jetsam, carrion, annex, harbinger, vestige, surreptitious and 575 more...
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Words
phantasmagoria, eviscerate, avast, simulacrum, varicose, oblique, gestalt, ersatz, vernal, vivace, stellate, synecdoche and 321 more...
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phrontistery - q
from phrontistery.info
qanat, qasida, qat, qigong, qintar, qiviut, qoph, qua, quab, quackle, quacksalver, quad and 227 more...
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Not 250 Spelling Words Again
Yet more spelling words for intermediate to advanced spellers.
ihi, kyoodle, heimin, feis, menarche, cordwainer, gherao, zythum, accidie, anastomosis, boustrophedon, oleum and 238 more...
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wallace
Remington, Windsor, prorector, wen, aver, mottle, seltzer, tepee, lapidary, effete, sotto, presbyopia and 355 more...
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Logolepsy
"Luciferous Logolepsy is a collection of over 9,000 obscure English words. Though the definition of an 'English' word might seem to be straightforward, it is not. There exist so many adopted, deriv...
Anschauung, Areopagus, Argus, Briarean, Dei gratia, Dei judicium, Deo volente, Duecento, Foehn, Geflugelte Worte, Gegenschein, Hakenkreuz and 9230 more...
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cicatrix
scar tissue
minatory, naira, Cluniac, embracive, prolix, hierophant, timorous, adduce, veracious, dysphoric, sang-froid, vitiate and 503 more...
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forms/acts: art
threnody, eisegesis, imbricate, screed, lapis, requiem, colophon, homunculus, deus ex machina, apophthegm, anastrophe, anaphora and 47 more...
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Williamsburg Spelling Bee
conusable, murenger, ohmmeter, quincunx, schipperke, mephitis, acharya, dysthymia, firkin, ciborium, fusillade, quinquennially and 23 more...
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Not Dirty Words
volvulus, quincunx, testudinate, macerate, defalcate, woodcock, titular, invaginate, logorrhea, jaculate, spatchcock
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I keep forgetting
Words I keep looking up and still keep forgetting the definition of
reify, phthisic, taghairm, makar, sciamachy, chevelure, smaragdine, vicinal, rixatrix, polynya, hamadryad, cloud-built and 5 more...
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The Fantastic Chiliastic
chiliastic, hapax legomenon, anosognosia, jactitation, infundibular, twee, callipygian, tintinnabulation, prestidigitation, anhedonia, coprolalia, parapraxis and 15 more...
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quin-
five; multiple of five
quinary, quintuplet, quintuplets, quincentennial, quinquagenarian, quindecemvirate, quinquagesimal, quinquevalent, quintilateral, quintile, quinella, quincunx and 13 more...
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All The Words
I enjoy collecting words, for I have no fear of them ever running out.
anacoluthon, defenestration, hypnopomp, hypnagogue, idioglossia, panopticon, tatterdemalion, abalone, caltrop, miasma, paroxysm, smalt and 475 more...
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ICE
quincunx, adoxography, panjundrum, breloque, surd, scripturient, rousant, favrile, embouchure, aquarelle, griffonage, sussultatory and 234 more...
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Twitter favorites
The new favourite words of people on Twitter.
A script searches Twitter for "X is my new favorite word" and adds it to this list.
See also:
grabbable, retuiteando, leaving, fantastic, absolutely, kurwa, hella, ridic, underpass, hate, interlude, plush and 2369 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for quincunx.

honeycomb It particularly relates to the laying out of orchards, the alternating rows of trees being arranged in groups of five as on dice. Apr 6, 2009
jmjarmstrong JM walks to each corner of the room, then stands in the exact centre and mutters 'Quincunx' Feb 1, 2009
epeolatrist An arrangement of five objects with one at each corner of a rectangle or square and one at the center.
it's like the 5 on a die Dec 8, 2008
chained_bear Hmm... in fact, it's a lot like "crunchysaviour." ;) Aug 15, 2008
crunchysaviour This is a brilliant word. It sounds suggestive and rude, but in a very abstract way. It is, of course, neither. Aug 15, 2008
treeseed In Astrology, Quincunx:
One of several possible aspects or relationships between planets in a horoscope.
An arc of 150 degrees. Also known as the inconjunct; this aspect creates a certain uneasiness and a feeling of discomfort and has karmic lessons to teach us. It is a minor aspect.
Otherwise known as Inconjunct.
This aspect is the only one not measured by celestial longitude. It is of two or more planets having the same distance in declination in degrees, north or south of the celestial equator. Feb 3, 2008
pomegranate Quincunx is also the name of the holding company for a large outdoor amphitheatre in western Clark County, Washington. The amphitheatre-building project was not very popular in its neighborhood because of the noise and traffic it would bring. I think they adopted the name "Quincunx" rather than something less mysterious (e.g. "Clark County Amphitheatre Company") so that they could hide from their detractors. Dec 4, 2007
yarb Nice. How did your opponenet react? Were they upset? Nov 30, 2007
pruwyben I played this in Scrabble once. It was my proudest Scrabble moment. Nov 30, 2007
reesetee Actually, I first learned this word when I came across the book by the same name (by Charles Palliser). A maddening novel. Sep 19, 2007
seanahan This is a popular word, especially amongst the wordocracy, but no love from the comment crowd. Sep 19, 2007