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quam

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Etymology and origin of the Latin word quam

Confidence
Established
Formation
Inherited
First attested
c. 450 BC, Twelve Tables
Ultimate origin
Proto-Indo-European (*kʷos)
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin quam
Latin tamquam

Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [ˈkʷãː][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈkʷam][1]

Forms

quam [1]

Etymology

It is the old accusative singular feminine of the relative and interrogative stem (see quī), from Proto-Indo-European *kʷeh₂m, the feminine accusative of *kʷos.[2][1] The masculine counterpart is cum (old ⟨quom⟩), as tam stands beside tum.[1] Ennius, Lucretius and Naevius also use a strengthened ⟨quamde⟩ or ⟨quande⟩.[3]

Cognate with Oscan pan.[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is found in the Twelve Tables;[4] Plautus has it in questions such as quam dūdum istuc factum est? “how long ago did that happen?”.[2]

Semantic evolution

As an interrogative and exclamatory adverb quam means “how? how much!”; with tam it means “as” (tam … quam “as … as”), and after a comparative “than”.[2][3] With a superlative it means “as … as possible” (quam plūrimī, quam prīmum “as soon as possible”), with or without possum.[2][5] After verbs of preferring it means “rather than”.[2]

It is the base of many compounds: quamquam, quamvīs, postquam, antequam, priusquam.[1]

Timeline

  • c. 450 BC – Used in the Twelve Tables.[4]
  • c. 235–200 BC – Naevius: perīre māvolunt … quam cum stuprō redīre “they prefer to die rather than return in disgrace”.[2][4]
  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses quam in questions and with tam.[2][4]

Meanings

Adverb

  1. (interrogative) how? to what degree?[2][3]
  2. (exclamatory) How! how much![2]
  3. (with tam) As: tam … quam, as … as.[2][5]
  4. (with a superlative) As … as possible: quam prīmum, as soon as possible.[2][5]

Conjunction

  1. (after a comparative) than.[2][1]
  2. Rather than (after verbs of preferring).[2][1]

Word family

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  4. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  5. ^ a b c Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson

Derived terms

Cite this entry

“Quam.” Etymologically, 18 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/quam. Accessed 18 Oct. 2026.

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