cuota

Forms

cuota f (plural cuotas)^[1] Until the 18th century it was often spelt quota, the form under which the Autoridades enters it.^[2][3]

Etymology

It is a learned word, borrowed from Latin quota (“how great (a part)”), the feminine of quotus (“how many, of what number”).^[4][5][1] Corominas explains it as a shortening of the older Spanish cuota parte, from the Latin phrase quota pars (“what part, how large a part”), and treats it as the more learned doublet of cota in the sense “share, quota”.^[5][6] García de Diego also calls it a learned word beside the popular one.^[7] The Latin adjective is derived from quot (“how many”), which goes back to Proto-Indo-European *kʷóti (“how many”), like Sanskrit कति (káti).^[8][1][9]

The same Latin word gave Italian quota, French cote and Occitan cota, meaning each person's share of a common expense.^[10]

Earliest recorded meaning

The CDH's first clear example is from 1487, in Hernando de Talavera's Católica impugnación: the Church gives and receives the tithe y no otra cuota “and no other share”.^[11] Corominas knew cuota parte only from Fernández de Navarrete, about 1665, and the bare cuota from 1736.^[5][6]

Semantic evolution

From the 16th century the word appears in accounts and legal texts for a fixed share of a sum, as in a Bolivian letter of 1562 on the heavy cuotas of the mines.^[11] Texts from Yucatán in 1722 use quota for a fixed contribution and for each person's share.^[3] The Autoridades defined it as a fixed share, settled or to be settled, and the Academy kept that definition through the 19th century.^[2][12][13] Domínguez (1846) added each person's share of a tax and a regular dividend or rent.^[14]

The modern dictionary adds the sum paid regularly to an association or to social security, and a historical sense from the Spanish army: a payment that let recruits shorten their service and enjoy certain advantages.^[4] Television brought cuota de audiencia and cuota de pantalla “audience share”.^[4][15] Wiktionary also gives the sense “instalment of a debt”.^[1]

Timeline

• 1487 – first record, in Hernando de Talavera.^[11]
• 1562 – cuotas in a letter from Bolivia.^[11]
• c. 1665 – cuota parte in Fernández de Navarrete.^[5][6]
• 1722 – first records in Boyd-Bowman, from Yucatán, spelt quota.^[3]
• 1736 – the date Corominas gives for cuota.^[5]
• 1817 – the Academy's edition defines cuota as a fixed share.^[16]
• 1884 – the Academy derives it from Latin quotus.^[17]

Meanings

Noun

1. A fixed, proportional share or part; a quota: Cada región recibió su cuota de agua.^[4][1]
2. A sum paid regularly to an association, a community, social security and the like; a fee or subscription: Los socios pagan una cuota anual.^[4][15]
3. An instalment of a debt.^[1]
4. (historical) A cash payment by which recruits obtained certain advantages and a shorter military service.^[4]

Related words

• cota
• alícuota
• cotizar
• cociente
• Latin quotus

Usage notes

Fixed phrases include cuota de audiencia “audience share” and, in law, cuota tributaria, the amount of tax a taxpayer owes.^[4]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b Real Academia Española (1726–1739), Diccionario de la lengua castellana (Diccionario de Autoridades), 6 vols., Madrid: Francisco del Hierro, p. 5, 475
3. ^ a b c Boyd-Bowman, Peter (2003), Léxico hispanoamericano 1493–1993, ed. Ray Harris-Northall and John J. Nitti, New York: Hispanic Seminary of Medieval Studies, p. s.v. cuota
4. ^ a b c d e f g Real Academia Española; Asociación de Academias de la Lengua Española (2014–), Diccionario de la lengua española, 23rd ed., online version 23.8, https://dle.rae.es, p. s.v. cuota
5. ^ a b c d e Corominas, Joan (1973), Breve diccionario etimológico de la lengua castellana, 3rd ed., Madrid: Gredos, p. s.v. cuota
6. ^ a b c Corominas, Joan; Pascual, José A. (1980–1991), Diccionario crítico etimológico castellano e hispánico, 6 vols., Madrid: Gredos, p. 2, 225
7. ^ García de Diego, Vicente (1985), Diccionario etimológico español e hispánico, 2nd ed., Madrid: Espasa-Calpe (1st ed. 1954), p. 5375
8. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
9. ^ Gómez de Silva, Guido (1988), Breve diccionario etimológico de la lengua española, México: Fondo de Cultura Económica / El Colegio de México, p. 207
10. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter, p. s.v. quotus
11. ^ a b c d Real Academia Española (2013–), Corpus del Diccionario histórico de la lengua española (CDH), version 3.1, https://apps.rae.es/CNDHE, p. s.v. cuota
12. ^ Real Academia Española (1843), Diccionario de la lengua castellana, 9th ed., Madrid: Imprenta de D. Francisco María Fernández, p. 217
13. ^ Real Academia Española (1899), Diccionario de la lengua castellana, 13th ed., Madrid: Imprenta de los Sres. Hernando y Compañía, p. 299
14. ^ Domínguez, Ramón Joaquín (1846–1847), Diccionario nacional o gran diccionario clásico de la lengua española, 2 vols., Madrid: Establecimiento Léxico-Tipográfico de R. J. Domínguez, p. 514
15. ^ a b Moliner, María (2007), Diccionario de uso del español, 3rd ed., Madrid: Gredos, p. s.v. cuota
16. ^ Real Academia Española (1817), Diccionario de la lengua castellana, 5th ed., Madrid: Imprenta Real, p. 267
17. ^ Real Academia Española (1884), Diccionario de la lengua castellana, 12th ed., Madrid: Imprenta de D. Gregorio Hernando (the first Academy edition with etymologies), p. 322