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quotus

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Etymology and origin of the Latin word quotus

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
234–149 BC, Cato
Ultimate origin
Proto-Indo-European (*kʷóti)

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ˈkʷɔ.tʊs][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [ˈkʷɔː.tus][1]

Forms

quotus (feminine quota, neuter quotum); first/second-declension adjective[1]

Etymology

It is formed from quot (“how many”).[2][1][3] De Vaan traces ⟨quot⟩ to Proto-Italic *kʷoti and Proto-Indo-European *kwe/o-ti (“how many”), cognate with Sanskrit कति (káti, “how many”) and Ancient Greek πόσος (pósos, “how great, how many”).[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Cato's De agri cultura has it as a relative, in a prayer formula about the part of the land round which the sacrificial animals are to be led;[2] de Vaan dates it from Lucretius.[3]

Semantic evolution

As an interrogative it asks the position in a series, “which in number?”, as in Cicero's Verrines, or the proportion of a whole, and in Horace “one of how many?”, of a guest asked how many companions he wants at dinner.[2][4] Quotus quisque, in rhetorical questions, means “how few”: Cicero asks how few have mastered rhythm and melody.[2] As a relative it means “of which number” or “in which proportion”, as in Pliny the Elder and Cato.[2]

Timeline

  • 234–149 BC – Cato as a relative.[2][5]
  • 96–55 BC – Lucretius.[3][5]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero of rare skills, quotus quisque.[2][5]
  • 65–8 BC – Horace of a number of guests.[2][5]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Which in number? what proportion? one of how many?[2][4][1]
  2. quotus quisque, how few.[2][1]
  3. (relative) Of which number; in which proportion.[2]

Word family

  • quotumus
  • quotusquisque
  • quotuscumque
  • quotuslibet

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  4. ^ a b Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
Cite this entry

“Quotus.” Etymologically, 19 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/quotus. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·