One way to picture 'quite': it points at a spot on a scale and says 'this far'. Its oldest force is 'all the way, to the full degree' — completely. But in everyday British English it leads a curious double life. Put it in front of an all-or-nothing word (right, sure, impossible) and it keeps the full force: quite right = completely right. Put it in front of an ordinary word that can be more-or-less (good, cold, tired) and it pulls back to the middle: quite good = fairly good, more than a little but not the most. So one word holds two opposite-feeling jobs — 'completely' and 'fairly' — depending on what it leans on.
From the word’s history
From Middle English 'quite' (a variant of 'quit' = free, clear, rid of), so originally 'fully, to the point of being clear/done' — 'completely'. The weakened 'fairly, to some degree' use is a later softening; the two coexist in modern British English depending on whether the following word is gradable.
源自中古英語 quite（quit 的變體，意為「了結、清掉、擺脫」），所以原意是「徹底地、清乾淨地」——也就是「完全」。後來在可分程度的字前面被軟化成「相當、有點」，於是現代英式英語裡兩種用法並存，差別就在後面接的字能不能分程度。
etymonline.com (quite, originally 'completely', variant of quit 'free, clear')
登入就可以看每一支怎麼連回核心畫面。
原始詞典資料15 筆記錄
以下是外部詞典記錄的用法，摘錄並精簡格式，我們還沒有寫成教學內容。上面的說明才是我們自己寫的；有些用法可能上面已經講過了。
quiteadv詞源 1/kwaɪt/
- 1
To the greatest extent or degree; completely, entirely.
- Thus when they had the witch diſrobed quight, / And all her filthy feature open ſhowne, / They let her goe at will, and wander waies vnknowne.
- Nobuyoshi Araki has been called a monster, a pornographer and a genius—and the photographer quite agrees.
- 2
To the greatest extent or degree; completely, entirely.
- Margaret passed quite through the pines, and reached the opening beyond which was what was once the yard, but was now, except for a strip of flower-border and turf which showed care, simply a tangle of bushes and briars.
- Religion and parochial etiquette are probed to reveal unhealthy, and sometimes shockingly violent, internal desires quite at odds with the surface life of a town in which tolerance is preached.
- 3
To the greatest extent or degree; completely, entirely.
- El adrea was quite dead. No more will he slink silently upon his unsuspecting prey.
- It was almost quite dark in there and she kept her arms stretched out in front of her so as not to bump her face into the back of the wardrobe.
- 4
To the greatest extent or degree; completely, entirely.
- When I warned him that his words might be offensive to identical twins, he said that identical twins were a quite different case.
- Create a new, quite separate, private company – say Murdoch Newspaper Holdings – and give it all, or most of, the papers that News Corp owns.
- 5
To the greatest extent or degree; completely, entirely.
- I ventured to hint that he was not quite a fair judge, as [Charles] Churchill had attacked him violently.
- And with a prolonged sound, not quite a sniff and not quite a snort, he trod on Euphemia's toe, and went out, leaving a sensation and a faint scent of barley−sugar behind him.
- 6
To the greatest extent or degree; completely, entirely.
- However, the proceedings were quite carefully orchestrated to produce what seemed to be a predetermined outcome.
- Higher education institutions in the UK are, quite rightly, largely autonomous.
- 7
In a fully justified sense; truly, perfectly, actually.
- "My little plot has been rather successful, after all, hasn't it?" "Quite a perfect success," said Drake.
- While the government claims to lead the world with its plans to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, the figures tell quite a different story.
- 8
In a fully justified sense; truly, perfectly, actually.
- “My Continental prominence is improving,” I commented dryly. / Von Lindowe cut at a furze bush with his silver-mounted rattan. / “Quite so,” he said as dryly, his hand at his mustache. “I may say if your intentions were known your life would not be worth a curse.”
- London Underground is quite unique in how many front line staff it has, as anyone who has travelled on the Paris Metro or New York Subway will testify.
另外 5 個記錄的用法
- 9
In a fully justified sense; truly, perfectly, actually.
- Laploshka was one of the meanest men I have ever met, and quite one of the most entertaining.
- Scaramouche has already been greeted as the finest French Revolution yet brought to the screen-and even if you are a little weary of seeing a strongly American band of sans-culottes demolish a pasteboard Paris, you should not miss Scaramouche, for it is quite the best thing Rex Ingram has done since The Four Horsemen.
- 10
In a fully justified sense; truly, perfectly, actually.
- To debauch the Indians with rum and cheat them of their land was quite a Government affair, and not at all criminal; but to use rum to cheat them of their peltry, was an abomination in the sight of the law.
- “Looks like you and Clay had quite a party,” she said with a glimmer in her dark blue eyes.
- 11
In a fully justified sense; truly, perfectly, actually.
- It's not quite the colour I am looking for.
- It is quite the proper thing for a lady to be on intimate, and even on affectionate, terms with her favourite clergyman, and Lizzie certainly had intercourse with no clergyman who was a greater favourite with her than Mr. Emilius.
- 12
archaicIn a fully justified sense; truly, perfectly, actually.
- 13
To a moderate extent or degree; somewhat, rather.
- Mind your shoes, the basement is quite wet.
quiteintj詞源 1/kwaɪt/
- 1
Indicates agreement; exactly so.
- “That's a rather ugly colour for a house, don't you think?” — “Quite.”
quitenoun詞源 2/ˈkiːteɪ/
- 1
bullfightingentertainmentlifestyleA series of passes made with the cape to distract the bull.
摘錄自 英文維基詞典 English Wiktionary，已精簡格式；依 CC BY-SA 4.0 授權使用，改動後的內容同樣以此授權提供。