quarrel

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈkwɔɹəl/, /ˈkwɑɹəl/; /ˈkwɒɹ(ə)l/ (UK)^[1]

Etymology

Quarrel “dispute” is inherited from Middle English querele, borrowed from Old French querele (“complaint; dispute”),^{[2][3][4][5][6]} from Latin querēla (“complaint, accusation”), also querella,^{[2][3][4][5][6]} from querī “to complain, lament”,^[2][3][4][5] the source also of querulous.^[3][4] Quarrel “crossbow bolt” is inherited from Middle English quarel, borrowed from Old French quarel,^[2][3][4][5] from Vulgar Latin *quadrellus, a diminutive of Late Latin quadrus (“square”),^{[2][3][4][5][6]} related to quattuor “four”.^[3][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

A ground of complaint against a person, a cause of hostile feeling (1340).^[7][3][4] The crossbow bolt is recorded before 1225–50.^[7][3]

Semantic evolution

In Middle English the word meant a complaint, and in law an accusation or suit (c. 1374),^[7] and was also used of armed combat.^[4] The sense “an angry contention between persons, a falling out” dates from 1572.^[7][4] The verb first meant “to complain, to find fault” (1390), as in to quarrel with one's bread and butter,^[7] and from 1530 “to dispute angrily, to fall out”.^[7][4] The bolt word was extended to a square or diamond-shaped pane of glass (1447).^[7][3]

Timeline

• before 1225 – a square-headed crossbow bolt.^[7][3]
• 1340 – a ground of complaint.^[7][3]
• 1390 – verb, to find fault.^[7]
• 1447 – a diamond-shaped pane of glass.^[7][3]
• 1530 – verb, to dispute angrily.^[7]
• 1572 – an angry dispute.^[7][4]
• 1596 – quarrelsome.^[3]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. An angry dispute or altercation, often ending friendly relations.
2. A cause of dispute or complaint, as in I have no quarrel with that.
3. A square-headed bolt or arrow for a crossbow.
4. A small square or diamond-shaped pane of glass in a lattice window.

Verb

1. To engage in a quarrel; to argue angrily; to squabble.
2. To find fault; to complain, as in to quarrel with a decision.

Word family

• quarreler
• quarrelsome

Related words

• quarry
• querulous
• quadrant

Usage notes

Merriam-Webster distinguishes quarrel, heated verbal contention that strains or breaks a relationship, from wrangle, noisy and often prolonged dispute, altercation, a noisy quarrel, and squabble, a childish quarrel over a trifle.^[5] Random House contrasts quarrel, mainly a verbal disagreement of any degree, with dissension, a profound disagreement, especially within a group.^[6]

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Harper, Douglas, Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ a b c d e f Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ a b c d Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press