quota

Forms

quota f (plural quote)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin quota (“how great a share”), the feminine of quotus (“which in number; in what proportion”) used as a noun, short for the phrase quota pars (“how great a part”), the share due to each.^[2][3][4][5] DELI and Nocentini count it a learned word;^[2][3][6] GDLI also records the phrase quota parte as a calque of the Latin.^[2][3][6] The same Latin word is French cote, Occitan cota, and Spanish cuota (“share”) beside cota (“height”).^[3][7]

The altitude sense appeared in the late 19th century on the model of the French word, used for the vertical distance from a point.^[3]

The adjective belongs to quot (“how many”), from Proto-Italic *kʷoti and Proto-Indo-European *kʷe/o-ti (“how many”), whose cognates include Ancient Greek πόσος (pósos, “how great, how many”).^[8]

Earliest recorded meaning

DELI's first record is in the jurist Giovanni Battista De Luca (1673), who speaks of heirs who hold an estate in common “ciascuno per la sua porzione overo quota” (each for his portion or share).^[2][9][10] GRADIT dates the word to 1708 and Nocentini to the early 18th century.^[4][3]

Semantic evolution

The first sense was legal and financial: an ideal share of a property held in common, then the sum each member of a group pays or receives; an old form quotta is also recorded.^[2][9] Tommaseo–Bellini notes that quota was first an adjective, as in la sua quota parte.^[11]

In topography the word came to mean height above sea level (1853, D'Ayala), and in the First World War a hill without a name was known by its height, as in “l'altura di quota 220” (the height at elevation 220), quoted by Panzini in 1918.^[2] Aviation took it for flying height, with prendere quota and perdere quota (to climb, to lose height), also used figuratively.^[12] Horse racing gave the sense of betting odds (1891), and modern Italian added the share of a company's capital, a unit of an investment fund, an immigration quota and the quota rosa for women in elected bodies.^[2][4][13]

German borrowed Quota in the 17th century, later replaced by Quote from Medieval Latin.^[10]

Timeline

• 1673 – Giovanni Battista De Luca uses quota for a share of an estate.^[2][10]
• 17th century – German Quota is recorded.^[10]
• 1708 – GRADIT's date for the word.^[4]
• 1853 – D'Ayala uses quota for the height of a point on a map.^[2]
• 1891 – C. Volpini uses it for bookmakers' odds on a horse.^[2]
• 1918 – Panzini records the military use of quota for a hill named by its height.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. A share: the sum each member of a group has to pay or receive in a division: Ognuno ha versato la sua quota per il regalo.^[4][13][14]
2. A membership or subscription fee; an instalment: quota associativa, quota d'iscrizione.^[4][15]
3. (law, finance) A share of a property or of the capital of a firm; a unit of an investment fund.^[4][13][5]
4. A quota: a fixed number or amount allowed, as in quota di immigrazione and quota rosa (the places reserved for women on a list or board).^[13][5]
5. (gambling) The odds offered on a horse or a result; in pools, the sum due to each winner.^[4][15][14]
6. Altitude, height above sea level or above a reference plane; the flying height of an aircraft.^[4][12] Phrases: ad alta quota (at high altitude), prendere quota (to gain height; figuratively, to take off), perdere quota.^[4][15][12]
7. A position on a points table: La squadra è salita a quota trenta.^[15][12]
8. (technical drawing) A dimension marked on a drawing.^[15]

Word family

• quotare
• quotazione
• quotizzare
• quotizzazione
• quotista

Related words

• quoto
• aliquota
• Latin quotus
• French cote

Usage notes

Quota parte (a proportional share) keeps the old adjectival use, and is now rare.^[16][6]

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
3. ^ a b c d e f Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
5. ^ a b c Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
6. ^ 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, 171
7. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
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. ^ a b Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 15, 170
10. ^ a b c d Stammerjohann, Harro, et al. (2008), Dizionario di italianismi in francese, inglese, tedesco, Firenze: Accademia della Crusca; online at difit.italianisticaonline.it
11. ^ Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
12. ^ a b c d Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli
13. ^ a b c d Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
14. ^ a b Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
15. ^ a b c d e Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
16. ^ Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)