Quincey

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The surname of Thomas De Quincey, the nineteenth-century English essayist famous for Confessions of an English Opium-Eater
2. A family name borne by Thomas De Quincey, the English writer best known for his autobiographical account of opium addiction
3. Refers to Thomas De Quincey, an English author of the Romantic era who wrote about his opium use in Confessions of an English Opium-Eater

Etymology: Quincey is best understood as a personal name rather than a common word. It is a variant spelling of Quincy, which comes from Quincy, a place name in Normandy. Families took their surnames from their lands, so the name likely travelled with Norman landowners who settled in England and took the place name as their family title. The name is most associated with Thomas De Quincey, the English essayist whose "Confessions of an English Opium-Eater" made the family name known to readers of literature. The "De" in his surname reflects the older Norman French habit of marking a landed family's origin, a convention that persisted in English surnames long after the original estates were lost.