quarter

Pronunciation

• IPA: UK /ˈkwɔː.tə/, US /ˈkwɔːr.t̬ɚ/^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English quarter,^[2] borrowed from Anglo-Norman quarter, Old French quartier,^[3][4][5] from Latin quārtārius (“fourth part of a measure”),^[3][4][6] from quārtus (“fourth”), related to quattuor (“four”),^[3][4] from Proto-Indo-European *kwetwer- (“four”).^[3] It is related to quart, quarry and four.^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

One fourth part of something: probably before 1300, in Sir Tristrem, with a surname from 1267,^[4] and about 1300 in Etymonline, often of the four parts into which a slaughtered animal is cut;^[3] one of its earliest uses is of the parts of the body dismembered at an execution.^[3]

Semantic evolution

A measure of eight bushels is from the 13th century.^[5] A fourth of the year is from 1389, the phase of the moon before 1420, and a quarter of an hour before 1456.^[4] The four main divisions of the horizon are from 1391, and any region or locality from probably before 1300.^[4] A district of a town is from 1526,^[4] or the 1520s in Etymonline.^[3] Dwelling places, mostly as quarters, are from 1591,^[4] and soldiers' lodgings from the 16th century.^[5] Mercy shown to a defeated enemy, as in to give no quarter, is from 1611;^[4] its precise origin is obscure to the OED, which suggests the sense “relations with, conduct towards another” or the assigned place where the defeated waited for their fate,^[3] and Barnhart the older military sense of an assigned position (1549).^[4] The American coin worth a quarter of a dollar is from 1783.^[4][3] One of four periods of play in a game is from 1911.^[4] The verb, to divide into four, is from about 1353, and as a punishment of criminals from the late 14th century;^[4][3] to lodge soldiers is from the 1590s.^[3]

Timeline

• c. 1300 – a fourth part.^[4][3]
• c. 1353 – verb, to divide into four.^[4]
• 1389 – a quarter of a year.^[4]
• before 1456 – a quarter of an hour.^[4]
• 1526 – a district of a town.^[4]
• 1591 – dwelling place.^[4]
• 1611 – mercy to a defeated enemy.^[4]
• 1783 – the American coin.^[4][3]
• 1879 – quarterback.^[4]
• 1911 – a period of play.^[4]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. One of four equal parts.
2. A coin worth a fourth of a dollar.
3. A quarter of an hour; fifteen minutes.
4. Three months, a fourth of a year.
5. A district of a city: the Latin Quarter.
6. A person or group regarded as a source: from every quarter.
7. quarters: a place to live, especially for soldiers.
8. Mercy shown to a defeated enemy: no quarter.
9. One of four periods of play in some games.

Verb

1. To divide into four equal parts.
2. To dismember a human body into four parts.
3. To provide with lodgings, especially soldiers.

Adjective

1. Being a fourth part.

Word family

• quarterer
• quarter-hour
• quarter blanket
• quarter crack
• quarter day
• quarter horse
• quarter note

Related words

• quart
• quarters
• quartet
• quarantine
• quadrant
• quarry
• four
• squad
• square

References

1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
2. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
5. ^ a b c Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press