Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

quinch

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 0.00 in modern English

Syllables
quinch
IPA
20
Scrabble Score
6
Letters
1
Syllables
6
Unique Chars

Meaning

verb

To twitch, as if in pain; flinch, wince.

Intransitive verb; Obsolete

Example Sentences

Etymology

First attested 1530 as quynche, possibly from unrecorded Middle English *quinchen, itself of obscure origin. Perhaps a fusion of Middle English quicchen, quecchen (“to shake, tremble; twitch, flinch”) and Middle English winchen (“to flinch, wince; veer or move away”), making it equivalent to a blend of quitch + winch. Compare Saterland Frisian kwinkje (“to blink, wink with the eyes”), Middle Dutch quincken, quinken ("to shake, quiver"; whence modern Dutch kwinken, kwinkeleren (“to warble”)), German Low German quinken (“to blink, wink”).

Origin

Word Breakdown

  • Root: *quinchen, quicchen, winchen

Usage

Inflected Forms

quinches (present, singular) quinching (participle, present) quinched (participle, past) quinched (past)

Questions

What does quinch mean?
To twitch, as if in pain; flinch, wince.
Where does quinch come from?
It is traced to Middle English.

How to pronounce quinch

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “quinch”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling () so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “quinch”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “quinch” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.