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quartiere

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Etymology and origin of the Italian word quartiere

Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
late 13th century
Borrowed from
French quartier
Ultimate origin
Latin quartus
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin quartus
French quart
French quartier
Italian quartiere

Pronunciation

  • /kwarˈtjɛ.re/[1]

Forms

quartiere m (plural quartieri)[1] Old forms include quartiero, quartieri (singular) and quarteri.[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is borrowed from French quartier (“fourth part; district”), recorded in 1080.[5][6][7][1] The French word continues Latin quartārius (“a fourth part”), from quartus (“fourth”), since the district was originally one of the four parts into which a town was divided.[5][6][8] Medieval Latin quarterius appears in Salimbene (1281–1288), and quarterium at Taranto in 1117.[5][2] Devoto–Oli and Treccani describe it as formed from quarto on the model of the French word.[9][10] The native Tuscan outcome of the Latin word is quartaio.[2][11]

The military phrases meaning “to ask for quarter”, “to give quarter” and “without quarter” are calques of French demander quartier (1673), donner quartier (1611) and sans quartier (before 1763), where the troops' lodging had come to mean a place of safety.[5][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

Nocentini and GRADIT date the word to the end of the 13th century;[6][7][5] DELI's first Italian record is in a 14th-century translation of Livy, for a part of a town.[6][7][5] Giovanni Villani used it in heraldry, for a quarter of a shield (before 1348).[5]

Semantic evolution

The quarters of medieval Florence were the model: the GDLI connects the division into four with the two main streets of the Roman camp.[4] The sense later widened to any district of a town with its own character.[4][7] In 1550 the word is recorded for the buildings that lodge troops, in 1685 for an apartment, a sense now Tuscan, and in 1846 for the back of a shoe.[5][3] Quartiere generale (headquarters) dates from the 19th century.[2]

Modern compounds include quartiere dormitorio (a commuter suburb) and quartieri alti (the smart districts).[7][12] English took the word for an Italian urban district in 1888.[13]

Timeline

  • 1117 – Medieval Latin quarterium is recorded at Taranto.[2]
  • 1281–1288 – Salimbene uses quarterius.[5]
  • Late 13th century – Quartiere enters Italian.[6][7]
  • Before 1348 – Giovanni Villani uses the heraldic sense.[5]
  • 1550 – The sense “troops' lodging” is recorded.[5]
  • 1685 – The sense “apartment” is recorded.[5]
  • Before 1803 – Alfieri uses quartierino, a small flat.[5]
  • 1846 – The sense “back of a shoe” is recorded.[5]
  • 1888 – English quartiere is recorded.[13]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A district, neighbourhood of a town with its own character: Abitiamo in un quartiere tranquillo.[7][9][3]
  2. (history) One of the four parts into which many medieval towns were divided.[7][14][10]
  3. The residents of a district: Tutto il quartiere si è mobilitato.[9][14]
  4. An administrative division of a large town: consiglio di quartiere.[9][12]
  5. (Tuscany) An apartment, a flat.[7][3][10]
  6. (military) quarters, the buildings where troops are lodged: quartieri d'inverno.[7][3][10]
  7. (figurative) Quarter, mercy to a defeated enemy; respite: una lotta senza quartiere.[7][14][10]
  8. (heraldry) A quarter of a shield.[7][3]
  9. (nautical) One of the three lengthwise sections of a ship; one of the removable boards that close a hatchway.[7]

Word family

  • quartierino
  • quartiermastro
  • acquartierare
  • acquartieramento

Usage notes

Quartier generale (headquarters) is also used figuratively for the base of an organisation.[14][10] An old quartiere adapted from English quarter, a measure of grain and of weight, appears in 18th-century writers.[15]

References

  1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 3173
  3. ^ a b c d e f Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
  4. ^ a b c Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 15
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
  6. ^ a b c d e f Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
  8. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  9. ^ a b c d Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
  10. ^ a b c d e f Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
  11. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
  12. ^ a b Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli
  13. ^ a b Stammerjohann, Harro, et al. (2008), Dizionario di italianismi in francese, inglese, tedesco, Firenze: Accademia della Crusca; online at difit.italianisticaonline.it
  14. ^ a b c d Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
  15. ^ Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 15, 85

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Quartiere.” Etymologically, 22 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/it/quartiere. Accessed 22 Oct. 2026.

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