Quirk, n.

(kwĭrk, 18), n. [Written also quirk.] [Allied to queer, q. v.; N. H. Ger. zwerch, across, awry, M. H. Ger. twerch, twer, O. H. Ger. twerh, twer, equiv. to Ger. quer.] 1. A sudden turn; a starting from the point or line; hence, an artful evasion or subterfuge; a shift; a quibble; as, the quirks of a pettifogger. We ground the justification of our nonconformity on dark subtilties and intricate quirks. Barrow.

2. A fit or turn; a short paroxysm. [Obs.] “Quirks of joy or grief.” Shak.
3. A smart taunt or retort; a quibble; a flight of fancy.

I may chance to have some odd quirks and remnants of wit broken on me. Shak.

4. An irregular air; as, light quirks of music. Pope.
5. (Building.) A piece of ground taken out of any regular ground-plot or floor, as to make a court or yard, &c. Gwilt.
6. (Arch.) A small, acute channel or recess by which the convex part of Grecian moldings (the ogee and ovolo) are separated from the fillet or soffit which covers them. Oxf. Gloss.

Quirk-molding, one in which a quirk is used; also, a molding having a sudden convexity in the form of a conic section. Brande.