quadrans Latin · revision 34141

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=derivation|attested=c. 180–102 BC, Lucilius|origins=la quattuor}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * Classical: [ˈkʷa.drãːs], [ˈkʷad.rãːs]^(Wiktionary)

+ * Ecclesiastical: [ˈkʷaː.drans]^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''quadrāns''' ''m'' (genitive quadrantis); third declension^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ Used as a noun, it is the present participle [[der|la|quadrō|t=to make square]].^(OLD 2012)^(Etymonline) De Vaan lists it among the derivatives of [[m|la|quattuor|t=four]],^(de Vaan 2008) and Etymonline traces that numeral to [[ine-pro|*kwetwer-|t=four]].^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ De Vaan and the OLD find it first in Lucilius, as the name of a coin worth a quarter of an ''as'';^(de Vaan 2008)^(OLD 2012) Köbler's earliest source is Cato.^(Köbler 2010)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ As the smallest coin in common use it became a byword for something of very little value, a farthing: Horace writes of a man dying poorer by a single ''quadrāns''.^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879) Vitruvius uses it of Greek coins worth a quarter of an obol.^(OLD 2012) It is also a unit of measure: a quarter of a Roman pound in Columella, a quarter of a ''sextārius'' in Varro, a quarter of a ''iūgerum'' of land in Livy, and a quarter of a digit as a length.^(OLD 2012) More generally it is a fourth part of anything:^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879) Velleius writes of a law that ordered a quarter of their debts to be paid to creditors, and ''hērēs ex quadrante'' is an heir to a quarter of an estate.^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879) In medieval Latin it is a quarter of a ''mansus'', a measure of land, and a quarter of a loaf of bread.^(Niermeyer 1976) English ''quadrant'' was borrowed from it through Old French, first for a quarter of a day.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 180–102 BC – Lucilius names the coin.^(OLD 2012)^(de Vaan 2008)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 116–27 BC – Varro uses it as a liquid measure.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 65–8 BC – Horace uses it for a trifling sum.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 1st century AD – Columella uses it as a weight.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * late 14th century – English [[m|en|quadrant]] is recorded, at first for a quarter of a day.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A [[m|en|coin]] worth a quarter of an ''[[as]]''.^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879)

+ # (as a token of the smallest value) A [[m|en|farthing]].^(OLD 2012)^(Stelten 1995)

+ # (with a genitive) A coin worth a quarter (of another coin).^(OLD 2012)

+ # (as a weight) A quarter of a Roman [[m|en|pound]].^(OLD 2012)

+ # (as a liquid measure) A quarter of a ''[[sextārius]]''.^(OLD 2012)

+ # (of land) A quarter of a ''[[iūgerum]]'';^(OLD 2012) (of length) a quarter of a digit.^(OLD 2012)

+ # A fourth part, [[m|en|quarter]] (of any quantity); ''hērēs ex quadrante'', heir to a quarter of an estate.^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879)

+ # ''(Medieval Latin)'' A quarter of a ''[[mansus]]''; a measure of land; a quarter of a loaf.^(Niermeyer 1976)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[quadrantal]]

+ * [[quadrantālis]]

+ * [[quadrantārius]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[quattuor]]

+ * [[octāns]]

+ * [[sextāns]]

+ * [[quadrō]]

+ * [[en|quadrant]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}