quit English · revision 4578

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=a. 1200|origins=la quietus}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /kwɪt/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|quiten]], [[bor|fro|quiter|t=to clear, release, absolve]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) from the adjective quite, quitte “free, clear, discharged”,^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) from [[la-med|quittus|t=free of debt or claim]], a special development of Latin quiētus “free, at rest, calm”,^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)^(Barnhart 1988) from [[ine-pro|*kʷyeh₁-|alt=*kweie-|t=to rest, be quiet]].^(Etymonline) It is a doublet of [[quiet]],^(Barnhart 1988) and related to [[quite]], [[acquit]] and [[requite]].^(Hoad 1986)^(Cresswell 2021)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The verb, to pay or settle a debt or obligation, and the adjective, free or clear of debt: probably before 1200 in Barnhart,^(Barnhart 1988) about 1200 in Etymonline.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ From freeing oneself of a debt the verb moved to freeing in general: “to release, absolve” (before 1250),^(Barnhart 1988) to reward or repay (mid-13th century), to declare not guilty (about 1300), and to acquit oneself (late 14th century).^(Etymonline) The sense “to leave, depart from” is by about 1390,^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) and “to give up, relinquish” from the mid-15th century.^(Etymonline) “To stop doing something” is from the 1640s in Etymonline and 1754 in Barnhart, though earlier uses point toward it.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) The adjective survives mainly in ''be quit of'' and ''quits''.^(AHD)^(OED 1989) The noun, an act of quitting, is American English from 1923.^(OED 1989)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * a. 1200 – to pay, settle a debt; free of debt.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * a. 1250 – to release, clear.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * mid-13th century – to repay.^(Etymonline)

+ * c. 1300 – to acquit of a charge.^(Etymonline)

+ * c. 1390 – to leave, depart from.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+ * mid-15th century – to give up.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1640s – to stop doing something.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1923 – noun, an act of quitting.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Verb===

+ # To stop doing something.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To leave a job, school or other position; to [[resign]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To go away from a place or person.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To give up or abandon.^(AHD)

+ # ''(archaic)'' To behave or [[acquit]] oneself: ''quit you like men''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ===Adjective===

+ # ''quit of'': free or rid of.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[quittable]]

+ * [[quitclaim]]

+ * [[quits]]

+ * [[quitter]]

+ * [[quitrent]]

+ * [[grassquit]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[quiet]]

+ * [[quite]]

+ * [[acquit]]

+ * [[requite]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ Both quit and quitted are used for the past tense, quitted being more usual in British English.^(Collins 2023)^(Roach et al. 2011) A different word quit, the name of several small Jamaican birds (1847), is probably imitative.^(OED 1989)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}