quality

Pronunciation

• IPA: UK /ˈkwɒl.ə.ti/, US /ˈkwɑː.lə.ti/^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English qualite, borrowed from Old French qualité (“quality, nature, characteristic”),^[2][3][4] from Latin quālitās (“a quality, property; nature”),^[2][3] said to have been coined by Cicero to translate Greek ποιότης (poiótēs),^[2][5][4] from quālis (“of what kind”),^[2][6][7] from Proto-Indo-European *kwo-, the stem of relative and interrogative pronouns.^[2][6] Latin quālis is also the source of qualify.^[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

Character, disposition, nature: about 1290,^[8] or about 1300.^[3][2]

Semantic evolution

For a long time the word was used with awareness of its place in Aristotelian philosophy.^[2] An inherent attribute and a degree of excellence are from the late 14th century,^[2] and Barnhart dates the grade of excellence before 1396.^[3] A property of a thing is from 1340.^[9] Social rank is from about 1400, hence “nobility, gentry”,^[2][8] and the quality, the upper classes, survived in dialect speech.^[10] A distinguishing excellence is from the 1580s.^[2] The adjective use, “of high quality”, is from 1936 in Merriam-Webster.^[5] Quality control is from 1935, quality of life from 1943, and quality time by 1977.^[2]

Timeline

• c. 1290 – character, disposition.^[8]
• 1340 – a property.^[9]
• late 14th century – an attribute; a degree of excellence.^[2]
• c. 1400 – social rank.^[2]
• 1580s – a distinguishing excellence.^[2]
• 1935 – quality control.^[2]
• 1936 – adjective.^[5]
• 1977 – quality time.^[2]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A distinguishing characteristic or property; a personal trait.
2. Essential character; nature.
3. Degree or grade of excellence; superiority of kind.
4. (archaic) High social position; people of high rank.
5. The timbre of a sound.

Adjective

1. Of high quality; excellent.

Word family

• qualityless
• nonquality
• subquality
• qualitative
• letter-quality
• quality assurance
• quality circle

Related words

• qualify
• quantity
• what
• who

Usage notes

The American Heritage Dictionary compares quality with property, attribute, character and trait: quality is the most inclusive.^[11]

References

1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b c d Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
4. ^ a b Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
5. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (2000), 4th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
7. ^ a b Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
8. ^ a b c Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
9. ^ a b Kay, Christian; Roberts, Jane; Samuels, Michael; Wotherspoon, Irené, eds. (2009), Historical Thesaurus of the Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford: Oxford University Press; online edition (2024)
10. ^ Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)
11. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin