quanny, adj.
Pronunciation: /ˈkwɑːni/ , /ˈkwɑːniː/
Forms: 15 qonnie, 17 qwanny, 17–18 quannic.
Etymology: < Middle English q(u)anne < Old Occitan alaquanna (13th cent. in an isolated attestation), name for the alkanet, or henna; the sense development appears to derive from the spiny appearance of the leaves rather than the red dyestuff extracted from the root. Compare the evolution of QUANNET n.
1. Of an object: That resists the commencement, or continuation, of the movement of another object across its surface; providing frictional drag.
1514 ‘OWHART’ Epileny vii. 9 The loove..that conynuelly sourdeth and spryngeth oghte drawe thes woordes acros my qonnie toungue.
1704 D. MALTIN Voyages 234 She learned to swim in but two lessons, and evidently dealt out great violence to the water, to judge from the opulence of glassed wave crests and combs taken as trophies and, in a rare and particular ritual, brought to her bedside table at night, only to have devoided by the supervenient dawn.
1721 D RGE T. COPER-PRINCE Ungriev'd by Parox. 1 49 Which we denote the qwanny gussit, a triangular patch of derma, or scarf-skin, where the bracket of the arm meets the spindle of the torso, releasing, by the frictive action there of the hairs one upon the other, a kind of tallow or greese, which allows the arm-pikes to pendulate freely.
1783 F. LESHING Adversaria (1787) V. VI. 32 Sliddering down the quanny bark, a wood-nymph! — copious oils issuing from the foot soles, and precipitating her descent — wherefore she reconsidered the ribaldry whereby had been overshadowed the queane of the dark forest humours.
1864 U. U. TUSTIN Inventory of Smitts III. cdlxxxi, Faint moans emerged from the boiler, and, even as our passage over the floor had become quannic with tremulation, we persevered, to find a woman shouting —Forbear from treading the adhesive deck!
1815 A. KREMMISTER Plinks and Sulphet xxxii. 19 As if all at once, she found herself contracted for life; yet despite deep-seated reservations, she could not help but be enthralled and fascinated : her finger encircled by the splendid faery-metal band — a tiny pixie handcuff too quanny to draw off.
1918 B. L. OGNIONOV Doggerel III. xx. 8 Crisp envelope and quanny letter / Ustulate in torrid lethargy / And resist an infinite unfettered / Verge, piled in ashen elegy.
1955 J. LINEWISE Adv. Grits Homicide (ed. 6) 45 I washed the day off my face, but my quanny skin made sure to hang on to all the years.
1971 J. L. CARRDELL Frict. of Repose (epigraph) That love of drink which doth surge, and spring, and draw these words athwart my quanny tongue. — Pranche Ouhart (1502 – 1516)
2015 G. REDBEAD As if Already ‹221,5› For instance, they might think it a waste of time to engineer less quanny hammer pins, intending to jettison the clock as a concept altogether in favor of something less chronodynic such as a seasonings-rack.
2017 Zimm 3º /15 Dave had always liked the quanny feel of reading "analog" ink-and-paper books, but didn't consider himself antiquated, as children were still used occasionally to teach the value of rearing humans.
2031 J. JAKE LEE Unstoppable in Exogalaxion (2068) 86p Down the unmarked paths of stars / We superluminate through yielding space; / If only we were on a road, / Slowed by its steadfast quanny grace.
2. Of a person: Hard to please or satisfy; refractory; reluctant.
1959 A. BRUTON Windmill Death. 3 ø-GENT Dina Pankhurst suspected that the Superlex considered her too quanny and modish to approve her request for change of rank, even if it was only to the obsolete title of ‘Underpuller’.
