A- (3) prefix meaning "not," from Gk a-, an- "not," from pie base *ne "not" (see un-)

quadrangle --- c.1430, from O.Fr. quadrangle (13c.), from L.L. quadrangulum "four-sided figure," prop. neut. of L. adj. quadrangulus "having four quarters," from L. quattuor "four" (see four) + angulus "angle." The shortened form quad for "quadrangle of a college," is first recorded 1820 in Oxford slang.

quadrant --- 1398, "a quarter of a day, six hours," from L. quadrantem (nom. quadrans) "fourth part," prop. prp. of quadrare "to make square," from quadrus "a square," from quattuor "four" (see four). Sense of "measuring instrument" is first recorded c.1400, so called because it forms a quarter circle.

quadraphonic --- 1969, irregular formation from quadri- "four" + phonic. The goal was to reproduce front-to-back sound distribution in addition to side-to-side stereo.

quadratic --- 1656, "square," from quadrate (1398), from L. quadratus "square," pp. of quadrare "to square," related to quattuor "four" (see four). Quadratic equations (1668) so called because they involve the square of x.

quadrilateral (n.) --- 1650, from L. quadrilaterus, from quadri- "four" + latus (gen. lateris) "side" (see oblate (n.)).

quadrille --- 1773, "lively square dance for four couples," from Fr. quadrille, originally one of four groups of horsemen in a tournament (a sense attested in Eng. from 1738), from Sp. cuadrilla, dim. of cuadro "four-sided battle square," from L. quadrum "a square," related to quattuor "four" (see four). The craze for the dance hit England in 1816, and it underwent a vigorous revival late 19c. among the middle classes. Earlier a popular card game for four hands (1726).

quadrillion --- 1674, from Fr. quadrillion (16c.) from quadri- "four" + (m)illion. Cf. billion. In Great Britain, the fourth power of a million (1 followed by 24 zeroes); in the U.S., the fifth power of a thousand (1 followed by 15 zeroes).

quadriplegic (adj.) --- 1921, a medical hybrid coined from L. prefix quadri- "four" + -plegic, as in paraplegic, ult. from Gk. plege "stroke," from root of plessein "to strike." A correct, all-Gk. form would be *tessaraplegic. The noun is first attested 1958, from the adj.

quadroon --- 1707, "offspring of a white and a mulatto," from Sp. cuarteron (used chiefly of the offspring of a European and a mestizo), from cuarto "fourth," from L. quartus (see quart), so called because he or she has one quarter African blood. Alt. by infl. of words in quadr-.

quadruped --- 1620 (implied in quadrupedal), from Fr. quadrupède, from M.Fr., from L. quadrupes (gen. quadrupedis) "four-footed, a four-footed animal," from quadri- "four" + pes "foot." The adj. is attested from 1741.

quadruple (v.) --- 1375, from L. quadruplare "make fourfold," from quadruplus (n.) "quadruple," from quadri- "four" + -plus "fold." Quadruplets "four children in one birth" is first recorded 1787. The abbreviation of it to quad is first attested 1851.

quaff (v.) --- 1520 (implied in quaffer), perhaps onomatopoeic, or perhaps from Low Ger. quassen "to overindulge (in food and drink)," with -ss- misread as -ff-. The noun is from 1579.

quagga --- 1785, from Afrikaans (1710), from the name for the beast in a native language, perhaps Hottentot quacha, probably of imitative origin. In modern Xhosa, the form is iqwara, with a clicking -q-. The last one died in an Amsterdam zoo in 1883.

quagmire --- 1579, from obsolete quag "bog, marsh" + mire. Quag is a variant of M.E. quabbe "a marsh, bog," from O.E. *cwabba "shake, tremble" (like something soft and flabby). Extended sense of "difficult situation, inextricable position" is first recorded 1775.

quahog --- 1753, from an Algonquian language, perhaps Narragansett poquauhock or Pequot p'quaghhaug "hard clam."

quai --- 1870, from Fr. quai (see quay). Often short for Quai D'Orsay, street on the south bank of the Seine in Paris, site of the Fr. Ministry of Foreign Affairs and sometimes used metonymically for it (1922).

quail (n.) --- c.1300, quayle, from O.Fr. quaille, perhaps via M.L. quaccula (cf. Prov. calha, It. quaglia, O.Sp. coalla), from a Gmc. source (cf. O.H.G. quahtala "quail," Ger. Wachtel), imitative of the bird's cry. Or the Eng. word may be directly from Gmc. Slang meaning "young attractive woman" first recorded 1859.

quail (v.) --- to lose heart, to shrink, c.1440, of unknown origin, perhaps from M.Du. quelen "to suffer, be ill," from P.Gmc. *kwel- "to die" (see quell). Or from obsolete quail "to curdle" (1398), from O.Fr. coailler, from L. coagulare (see coagulate). Sense of "cower" is attested from 1555. Common 1520-1650, then rare until 19c.; apparently revived by Scott.

quaint --- c.1225, "cunning, proud, ingenious," from O.Fr. cointe "pretty, clever, knowing," from L. cognitus "known," pp. of cognoscere "get or come to know well" (see cognizance). Sense of "old-fashioned but charming" is first attested 1795, and could describe the word itself, which had become rare after c.1700 (though it soon recovered popularity in this secondary sense). Chaucer used quaint and queynte as spellings of cunt in "Canterbury Tales" (1386), and Andrew Marvell may be punning on it similarly in "To His Coy Mistress" (1650).

quake (v.) --- O.E. cwacian "quake, tremble, chatter (of teeth)," related to cweccan "to shake, swing, move, vibrate," of unknown origin with no certain cognates outside Eng. Perhaps somehow imitative. The noun is attested from c.1300, but was rare except in combinations.

Quaker --- 1651, said to have been applied to them in 1650 by Justice Bennett at Derby, from George Fox's admonition to his followers to "tremble at the Word of the Lord;" but the word was used earlier of foreign sects given to fits of shaking during religious fervor, and that is likely the source here. Either way, it was never an official name of the Religious Society of Friends. Quaker gun (1809, Amer.Eng.) was a log painted black and propped up to look from a distance like a cannon.

qualify --- 1465, "to invest with a quality," from M.L. qualificare "attribute a quality to," from L. qualis "of what sort" + facere "to make" (see factitious). Sense of "be fit for a job" first appeared 1588. Qualification in the sense of "limitation, restriction" is from 1543.

quality --- c.1290, from O.Fr. qualite (12c., Fr. qualité), from L. qualitatem (nom. qualitas; said to have been coined by Cicero to translate Gk. poiotes), from qualis "of what sort," from PIE pronomial base *kwo- (see qua). Noun phrase quality time first recorded 1977. Quality of life is from 1943. Quality control first attested 1935.

qualm --- O.E. cwealm (W.Saxon) "death, disaster, plague," utcualm (Anglian) "utter destruction," related to cwellan "to kill," cwelan "to die" (see quell). Sense softened to "feeling of faintness" 1530; meaning "uneasiness, doubt" is from 1553; that of "scruple of conscience" is 1649. A direct connection between the O.E. and modern senses is wanting, but it is nonetheless plausible, via the notion of "fit of sickness." The other suggested etymology, less satisfying, is from Du. kwalm "steam, vapor, mist," which also may be ult. from the same Gmc. root as quell.

quandary --- 1579, "state of perplexity," of unknown origin, perhaps a quasi-Latinism based on L. quando "when."

quantify --- c.1840, as a term in logic, from M.L. quantificare, from L. quantus "how much" + facere "to make" (see factitious). Lit. sense of "determine the quantity of, measure" is from 1878.

quantity --- c.1325, from O.Fr. quantite (Fr. quantité), from L. quantitatem (nom. quantitas, coined as a loan-translation of Gk. posotes) "relative greatness or extent," from quantus "how much," from quam "how, how much."

quantum --- 1619, "one's share or portion," from L. quantum "how much," neut. sing. of quantus "how great" (see quantity). Introduced in physics by Max Planck, 1900; reinforced by Einstein, 1905. Quantum theory is from 1912; quantum mechanics, 1922; quantum jump is first recorded 1955; quantum leap, 1970.

quarantine --- 1523, "period of 40 days in which a widow has the right to remain in her dead husband's house." Earlier (15c.), "desert in which Christ fasted for 40 days," from L. quadraginta "forty," related to quattuor "four" (see four). Sense of "period a ship suspected of carrying disease is kept in isolation" is 1663, from It. quarantina giorni, lit. "space of forty days," from quaranta "forty," from L. quadraginta. So called from the Venetian custom of keeping ships from plague-stricken countries waiting off its port for 40 days (first enforced at Ragusa in 1377). The extended sense of "any period of isolation" is from 1680.

quark --- 1964, applied by U.S. physicist Murray Gell-Mann (b.1929), who said he took it from a nonsense word in James Joyce's "Finnegans Wake" (1939).

quarrel (1) --- angry dispute, 1340, "ground for complaint," from O.Fr. querele, from L. querella "complaint," from queri "to complain, lament." Replaced O.E. sacan. Sense of "contention between persons" is from 1572. The verb is attested from 1390 in the sense "to raise an objection;" 1530 with the meaning "to contend violently, to fall out." Quarrelsome is from 1596.

quarrel (2) --- square-headed bolt for a crossbow, c.1225, from O.Fr. quarel, from V.L. *quadrellus, dim. of L.L. quadrus (adj.) "square," related to quattuor "four" (see four). Archaic sense of "square or diamond-shaped plane of glass" first recorded 1447.

quarry (1) --- what is hunted, c.1320, quirre "entrails of deer placed on the hide and given to dogs of the chase as a reward," from Anglo-Fr. quirreie, from O.Fr. cuiriee, altered (by influence of O.Fr. cuir "skin," from L. corium "hide"), from O.Fr. corée "viscera, entrails," from V.L. *corata "entrails," from L. cor "heart." Sense of "anything chased in hunt" is first recorded 1615; earlier "bird targeted by a hawk or other raptor" (1486).

quarry (2) --- where rocks are excavated, c.1400, from M.L. quarreria (1266), lit. "place where stones are squared," from L. quadrare "to square" (see quadrant). The verb is attested from 1774.

quart --- c.1325, "one-fourth of a gallon," from O.Fr. quarte "a fourth part" (13c.), from L. quarta (pars), from fem. of quartus "fourth," related to quattuor "four," from PIE base *kewtwor- (see four).

quarter (n.) --- c.1300, "one-fourth of anything," from O.Fr. quartier (12c.), from L. quartarius "fourth part," from quartus "fourth" (see quart). Earliest sense is "parts of the body as dismembered during execution" (1297). Used of the moon from c.1400 and the hour from 1599. The coin is peculiar to U.S., first recorded 1783. Meaning "region, locality" is from c.1300. Meaning "portion of a town" (identified by the class or race of people who live there) is first attested 1526. The verb meaning "to cut in quarters" is recorded from c.1430. Quarter days (1480), when rents were paid and contracts and leases began or expired, were, in England, Lady day (March 25), Midsummer day (June 24), Michaelmas day (Sept. 29), and Christmas day (Dec. 25); in Scotland, keeping closer to the pagan Celtic calendar, they were Candlemas (Feb. 2), Whitsunday (May 15), Lammas (Aug. 1), and Martinmas (Nov. 11). Quarter horse, bred strong for racing on quarter-mile tracks, first recorded 1834; quarterback (n.) in U.S. football is from 1879; the verb is first attested 1945. Monday morning quarterback originally was pro football player slang for sportswriters, attested from 1932.

quarters --- military dwelling place, 1591, from quarter (n.) in sense of "portion of a town." The military sense is in quartermaster (1442) and may be behind the phrase give (no) quarter (1611), on the notion of "to provide a prisoner with shelter." The verb quarter "to put up soldiers" is recorded from 1594.

quarterstaff --- c.1550, stout pole, six to eight feet long, tipped with iron, formerly a weapon used by the Eng. peasantry. The exact sense of quarter is uncertain here; it may be from a tree of a certain size cut into quarters.

quartet --- 1773, "musical composition for four instruments or voices," from Fr. quartette, from It. quartetto, dim. of quarto "fourth," from L. quartus "fourth." Meaning "set of four singers or musical performers" is from 1814.

quartile --- 1450, from M.Fr. quartil, from M.L. quartilus "of a quartile," from L. quartus "fourth."

quarto --- 1475, from M.L. in quarto "in the fourth (part of a sheet of paper)," from quarto, abl. sing. of L. quartus "fourth" (see quart).

quartz --- 1756, from Ger. Quarz "rock crystal," from M.H.G. twarc, probably from a W.Slavic source (cf. Czech tvrdy, Polish twardy "quartz"), from O.C.S. tvrudu "hard."

quasar --- 1964, from "quas(i-stell)ar radio source" (1963).

quash --- to make void, annul, crush, c.1330, from O.Fr. quasser "to break, smash," from L. quassare "to shatter," frequentative of quatere "to shake" (pp. quassus). Meaning "suppress" is from M.L. quassare "make null and void," from L. cassus "empty, void," influenced by quassare.

quasi --- 1485, from L., "as if," from quam "as much as" + si "if."

quasimodo --- Low Sunday, 1706, Quasimodo Sunday, from L. quasi modo, first words of introit for the first Sunday after Easter: quasi modo geniti infantes "as newborn babes" (1 Pet. ii:2). The hunchback in Victor Hugo's novel was supposed to have been abandoned as an infant at Notre Dame on this day.

quaternary --- c.1430, "consisting of four parts," from L. quaternarius "of four each," from quaterni "four each," from quater "four times," related to quattuor "four" (see four). In geological sense, attested from 1843, proposed 1829 by Fr. geologist Jules Pierre François Stanislas Desnoyers (1800-1887) as name for "the fourth great epoch of geological time," but since it only comprises the age of man, and the other epochs are many hundred times longer, not all accepted it.

quatrain --- 1585, from M.Fr. quatrain "four-line stanza," from O.Fr. quatre "four," from L. quattuor "four" (see four).

quattrocento --- 1875, "the fifteenth century as a period in art and architecture," from It., lit. "four hundred," short for mille quattrocento "one thousand four hundred."

quaver (v.) --- to vibrate, tremble, 1430, probably frequentative of cwavien "to tremble, shake" (c.1225), probably related to Low Ger. quabbeln "tremble," possibly of imitative origin. Meaning "sing in trills or quavers" first recorded 1538. The noun meaning "musical note" is first recorded 1570.

quay --- 1696, variant of M.E. key "wharf" (1306), from O.N.Fr. cai (O.Fr. chai) "sand bank," from Gaulish caium (5c.), from O.Celt. *kagio- "to encompass, enclose" (cf. Welsh cae "fence, hedge," Cornish ke "hedge"), cognate with O.E. haga "hedge" (see hedge). Spelling altered by infl. of Fr. quai, from the same Celtic source.

quean --- young, robust woman, O.E. cwene "woman," also "female serf, hussy, prostitute" (cf. portcwene "public woman"), from P.Gmc. *kwenon (cf. O.S. quan, O.H.G. quena, O.N. kona, Goth. qino "wife, woman"); see queen. Popular 16c.-17c. in sense "hussy." Sense of "effeminate homosexual" is recorded from 1935, esp. in Australian slang.

queasy --- 1459, coysy, possibly from O.N. kveisa "boil," perhaps influenced by Anglo-Fr. queisier, from O.Fr. coisier "to wound, hurt, make uneasy," from the same Gmc. root as kveisa. But history is obscure and evidences of development are wanting.

Quebec --- Fr. Canadian, from Micmac (Algonquian) /kepe:k/ "strait, narrows."

Quechua --- 1840, from Sp., from Quechua kechua "plunderer, destroyer." Indian people of Peru and surrounding regions.

queen --- O.E. cwen "queen, female ruler of a state, woman, wife," from P.Gmc. *kwoeniz, ablaut variant of *kwenon (source of quean), from PIE *gwen- "woman, wife" supposedly originally "honored woman" (cf. Greek gyné "a woman, a wife;" Gaelic bean "woman;" Skt. janis "a woman," gná "wife of a god, a goddess;" Avestan jainish "wife;" Armenian kin "woman;" O.C.S. zena, O.Pruss. genna "woman;" Goth. qino "a woman, wife; qéns "a queen"). English seems unique in I.E. in having a word for "queen" that is not a fem. derivative of the one for "king." The original sense seems to have been "wife," specialized by O.E. to "wife of a king." Used of chess piece from 1440, of playing card from 1575. Of bees from 1609 (until late 17c., they generally were thought to be kings; cf. "Henry V," I.ii). Meaning "male homosexual" (especially a feminine and ostentatious one) first recorded 1924; probably an alteration of quean in this sense. Queens, the New York borough, was named for Catherine of Braganza, queen of English King Charles II. Queen Anne first used 1878 for "style characteristic of the time of Queen Anne of Great Britain and Ireland," who reigned 1702-14.

Queensberry Rules --- drawn up 1867 by Sir John Sholto Douglas (1844-1900), 8th Marquis of Queensberry, to govern the sport of boxing in Great Britain.

queer --- 1508, "strange, peculiar, eccentric," from Scottish, perhaps from Low Ger. (Brunswick dialect) queer "oblique, off-center," related to Ger. quer "oblique, perverse, odd," from O.H.G. twerh "oblique," from PIE base *twerk- "to turn, twist, wind" (related to thwart). The verb "to spoil, ruin" is first recorded 1812. Sense of "homosexual" first recorded 1922; the noun in this sense is 1935, from the adj.

quelch --- 1659, shortening of squelch, perhaps influenced by quench.

quell --- O.E. cwellan "to kill, murder, execute," from P.Gmc. *kwaljanan (cf. O.E. cwelan "to die," cwalu "violent death;" O.S. quellian "to torture, kill;" O.N. kvelja "to torment;" M.Du. quelen "to vex, tease, torment;" O.H.G. quellan "to suffer pain," Ger. qualen "to torment, torture"), from root *kwel-/*kwal- (cf. Armenian kelem "I torture;" O.C.S. zali "pain;" Lith. galas "end," gela "agony," gelati "to sting"). Milder sense of "suppress, extinguish" developed by c.1300.

quench --- O.E. acwencan "to quench" (of fire, light), from P.Gmc. *cwandjan, probably a causative form of root of O.E. cwincan "to go out, be extinguished," O.Fris. kwinka.

Quentin --- masc. proper name, from Fr., from L. Quin(c)tianus, from quintus "the fifth." Roman children in large families often were names for their birth order (e.g. Sextius).

quern --- O.E. cweorn "hand-mill, mill," from PIE base *gwern- (cf. O.N. kvern, O.Fris. quern, O.H.G. quirn, Goth. quirnus; Skt. grava "crushing stone;" Lith. girna "millstone," girnos "hand mills;" O.C.S. zrunuvi "mills;" Welsh brevan "hand mill").

querulous --- c.1500, from O.Fr. querelos, from L.L. querulosus, from L. querulus "full of complaints, complaining," from queri "to complain." Retains the original vowel of quarrel (1).

query --- 1535, quære, from L. quære "ask," imperative of quærere "to seek, gain, ask," probably ultimately from PIE *kwo-, base forming the stem of relative and interrogative pronouns. Spelling altered c.1600 by influence of inquiry. The noun in the sense of "a question" is attested from 1635.

quesadilla --- Mexican tortilla w. filling of cheese, etc., 1944, from Sp., dim. of quesada, "type of cheesecake," from queso "cheese," from L. cæseus (see cheese).

quest --- c.1303, "a search for something" (esp. of judicial inquiries or hounds seeking game), from O.Fr. queste (Fr. quête), prop. "the act of seeking," from M.L. questa "search, inquiry," alteration of L. quæsitus, pp. of quærere "seek, gain, ask" (see query). Romance sense of "adventure undertaken by a knight" is attested from c.1384. The verb is first recorded c.1350.

question (n.) --- c.1300, from Anglo-Fr. questiun, O.Fr. question "legal inquest," from L. quæstionem (nom. quæstio) "a seeking, inquiry," from root of quærere (pp. quæsitus) "ask, seek" (see query). The verb is first recorded 1470, from O.Fr. questionner (13c.). Question mark is from 1869, earlier question stop (1862). Depreciatory sense of questionable is attested from 1806.

questionnaire --- 1901, from Fr. questionnaire "list of questions," from questionner "to question," from M.Fr. (see question). Purists preferred native formation questionary (1541).

Quetzalcoatl --- plumed serpent god of the Toltecs and Aztecs, 1578, from Nahuatl quetzalli "tailfeather" + coatl "snake."

queue --- 15c., "tail of a beast" (heraldic term), from Fr. queue "a tail," from O.Fr. cue "tail," from L. coda (dialectal variant of cauda) "tail," of unknown origin. The M.E. metaphoric extension to "line of dancers" led to extended sense of "line of people, etc." (1837). Also used 18c. in sense of "braid of hair" (first attested 1748). The verb meaning "to stand in a line" is recorded from 1927 (implied in queuing). Churchill is said to have coined Queuetopia (1950), to describe Britain under Labour or Socialist rule.

qui vive --- 1726, from Fr. qui voulez-vous qui vive? sentinel's challenge, "whom do you wish to live," lit. "(long) live who?" In other words, "whose side are you on?"

quibble --- 1611, "a pun, a play on words," probably a dim. of quib "evasion of point at issue" (c.1550), from L. quibus "by what (things)?," dative and ablative plural of quid "what," neut. of quis (see who). The word's overuse in legal jargon supposedly gave it the association with trivial argument. Meaning "equivocation, evasion of the point" is attested from 1670. The verb in this sense is from 1656.

quiche --- 1949, from Fr. quiche (1810), from Ger. (Alsace-Lorraine dialect) Küche, dim. of Ger. Kuchen "cake." Became fashionable 1970s; became contemptible 1980s.

quick --- O.E. cwic "living, alive," from P.Gmc. *kwikwaz (cf. O.Fris. quik, O.N. kvikr "living, alive," O.H.G. quec "lively," Ger. keck "bold"), from PIE base *gwiwo- "to live" (see bio-). Sense of "lively, swift" developed by c.1300, on notion of "full of life."

quicksand --- 1400, from M.E. quyk "living" (see quick) + sond "sand." O.E. had cwecesund, but this may have meant "lively strait of water."

quicksilver --- O.E. cwicseolfor, translating L. argentum vivum (cf. It. argento vivo), lit. "living silver;" so called from its liquid mobility. See quick + silver.

quid (1) --- bite-sized piece (of tobacco, etc.), 1727, dial. variant of M.E. cudde, from O.E. cudu, cwidu (see cud).

quid (2) --- one pound sterling, 1688, British slang, possibly from quid "that which is" (1606, see quiddity), as used in quid pro quo (q.v.).

quid pro quo --- 1565, from L., lit. "something for something, one thing for another."

quiddity --- 1539, "captious nicety in argument" from M.L. quidditas, lit. "whatness," from L. quid "what," neut. of quis (see who). Sense developed from scholastic disputes over the nature of things. Original meaning "real essence or nature of a thing" is attested in Eng. from 1569.

quidnunc --- gossip-monger, 1709, formed from L. quid "what" and nunc "now," to describe someone forever asking "What's the news?"

quiescent --- 1609, from L. quiescens, prp. of quiescere, from quies "rest, quiet" (see while). Quiescence is from 1631.

quiet (n.) --- c.1300, from O.Fr. quiete, from L. quies (gen. quietis) "rest, quiet," from PIE base *qwi- "rest" (cf. Goth. hveila, O.E. hwil "space of time;" see while). The adj. is attested from 1382; the verb is first attested 1440. Quietism is attested from 1687, on model of mysticism, originally in ref. to the mysticism of Molinas (1640-97), Sp. priest in Rome, whose "Guida spirituale" was published 1675 and condemned by the Inquisition in 1685. Quietude is from 1597.

quiff --- curl or lock of hair over the forehead, 1890, originally a style among soldiers, of unknown origin. Perhaps connected with quiff "a puff or whiff of tobacco smoke" (1831, originally Southern U.S.), held to be a variant of whiff (q.v.).

quill --- c.1400, "piece of reed or hollow stem," probably related to M.H.G. kil "quill," from Low Ger. quiele, of unknown origin. Meaning "pens made from quills" is from 1552; that of "porcupine spines" is from 1602.

quilt (n.) --- c.1300, "mattress with soft lining," from Anglo-Fr. quilte, O.Fr. cuilte "quilt, mattress" (12c.), from L. culcita "mattress," of unknown origin. Sense of "thick outer bed covering" is first recorded 1596. The verb is 1555, from the noun.