‖ quidam rare.
(ˈkwaɪdəm)
[L., f. quī who: cf. quædam.]
Somebody; a certain person.
| 1579 E. K. Ded. Spenser's Sheph. Cal. Post-scr., So many vnworthy Quidams, which catch at the garlond which to you alone is dewe. 1624 Bedell Lett. xi. 143 Who were these quidams that laid hands on Scory? a 1641 Bp. R. Montagu Acts & Mon. (1642) 48 Some Individuum vagum, a certaine Quidam in the Clouds. |
Hence quiˈdamity, an allusion to ‘somebody’.
| 1892 Athenæum 9 July 65/1 A retort lay ready to his hand more effective than any indulgence in quidam-ities. |