quiet English · revision 4160

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 1300|origins=la quies}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈkwaɪ.ət/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ The noun is [[inh|enm|quiet]],^(Barnhart 1988) [[bor|xno|quiete]], Old French quieté “rest, repose, tranquillity”,^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)^(SOED 2002) and directly from [[la|quiēs|t=a lying still, rest, repose, peace]] (genitive quiētis).^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) The adjective is from Old French quiet and directly from [[m|la|quiētus|t=calm, at rest]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) the past participle of [[m|la|quiēscere|t=to come to rest]].^(Barnhart 1988)^(AHD 2000) The Latin words are from [[ine-pro|*kʷyeh₁-|alt=*kweie-|t=to rest, be quiet]],^(Etymonline)^(AHD 2000) the source also of Old English hwīl “space of time”, modern [[while]].^(Klein 1966)^(Barnhart 1988) The verb, before 1398, is from the adjective and in part from Late Latin quiētāre “to calm, set free”.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024) Quiet is a doublet of [[coy]] and [[quit]].^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ As a noun, “calmness, rest, stillness”, freedom from disturbance or conflict: probably before 1300, in Arthour and Merlin,^(Barnhart 1988) about 1300 in Etymonline.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ “Inactivity, repose” is from the late 14th century, and “absence of noise” from about 1400.^(Etymonline) The adjective first meant “peaceable, at rest, tranquil, not moving”, from before 1382 in the Wycliffe Bible;^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) “not turbulent” is from the 1510s, “private, secret” from the 1570s, and “making no noise” by the 1590s.^(Etymonline) Of colours and dress, “not showy, restrained”, it is from 1560.^(OED 1989) The verb first meant to subdue a sensation or lessen a pain, in the late 14th century;^(Etymonline) “to make quiet” is from the mid-15th century, and the intransitive “to become quiet” is first recorded in Thomas Paine's Rights of Man (1791),^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) with ''down'' by 1851.^(Etymonline) The adverb is from 1573,^(Barnhart 1988)^(MW Collegiate) and ''quietude'' from 1597.^(Barnhart 1988) A ''quiet American'', often a United States undercover agent, comes from the title of Graham Greene's 1955 novel.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1300 – noun, calm, rest.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * a. 1382 – adjective, at rest.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 1400 – absence of noise.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1560 – not showy.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1573 – adverb.^(Barnhart 1988)^(MW Collegiate)

+ * 1590s – making no noise.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1791 – verb, to become quiet.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Making little or no [[noise]]; [[silent]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # Free of noise; hushed: ''a quiet street''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # Calm and still; free of turmoil or agitation.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # Gentle or reserved in manner.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # Not showy; restrained: ''quiet colours''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # Private or discreet: ''a quiet word''.^(MW Collegiate)^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # The state of being quiet; [[silence]], calm or [[tranquillity]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To make quiet; to [[calm]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # To become quiet, often with ''down''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # In law, to make a title secure by freeing it from all challenges.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[quietly]]

+ * [[quietness]]

+ * [[quieter]]

+ * [[quieten]]

+ * [[overquiet]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[acquiesce]]

+ * [[disquiet]]

+ * [[inquietude]]

+ * [[quiescence]]

+ * [[quiescent]]

+ * [[quietism]]

+ * [[quietude]]

+ * [[requiem]]

+ * [[unquiet]]

+ * [[quietus]]

+ * [[quit]]

+ * [[coy]]

+ * [[tranquil]]

+ * [[while]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}