Online Etymology Dictionary

quartile (adj.): mid-15c., "90 degrees apart" (of astronomical measurements), from Middle French quartil, from Medieval Latin quartilus "of a quartile," from Latin quartus "fourth" (see quart).
quarto (n.): "book from paper folded to make four pages to the sheet," late 15c., from Medieval Latin in quarto "in the fourth (part of a sheet of paper)," from quarto, ablative singular of Latin quartus "fourth" (see quart).
quartz (n.): "silicon dioxide," 1756, from German Quarz, Zwarc "rock crystal," from Middle High German twarc, probably from a West Slavic source, compare Czech tvrdy, Polish twardy "quartz," noun uses of an adjective meaning "hard," from Old Church Slavonic tvrudu "hard," from Proto-Slavic *tvrd-, from PIE *(s)twer- "to grasp, hold; hard."
quartzite (n.): 1837, from quartz + -ite.
quasar (n.): 1964, from "quas(i-stell)ar radio source" (1963); from quasi- + stellar.
quash (v.): "to make void, annul," early 14c., from Old French quasser, casser "to annul, declare void," and directly from Medieval Latin quassare, alteration of Late Latin cassare, from cassus "null, void, empty" (see caste (n.)).

Meaning "to break, crush," is early 14c., from Old French quasser, casser "to break, smash, injure, harm, weaken," from Latin quassare "to shatter," frequentative of quatere (past participle quassus) "to shake," from PIE root *kwet- "to shake" (source also of Greek passein "to sprinkle," Lithuanian kuteti "to shake up," Old Saxon skuddian "to move violently," German schütteln "to shake," Old English scudan "to hasten").

The words have influenced each other in form and sense since Medieval Latin and now are somewhat grown together. Related: Quashed; quashing.
quasi (adv.): late 15c., Latin, in hypothetical comparisons, "as if, just as if, as though;" in real comparisons "just as, as;" in approximation, "somewhat like, nearly, not far from;" from quam "as" relative pronominal adverb of manner (see who) + si "if," from PIE pronominal stem *swo- "so" (see so).
quasi-: word-forming element used since 18c. (but most productively in 20c.) and typically meaning "kind of, resembling, like but not really, as if;" from Latin quasi "as if, as it were" (see quasi).
quasimodo (n.): "Low Sunday," 1706, Quasimodo Sunday, from Latin quasi modo, first words of introit for the first Sunday after Easter: quasi modo geniti infantes "as newborn babes" (1 Pet. ii:2). The hunchback in Victor Hugo's novel was supposed to have been abandoned as an infant at Notre Dame on this day, hence his name. For first element, see quasi; for second see mode (n.1).
quaternary (adj.): early 15c., "consisting of four parts," from Latin quaternarius "of four each, containing four," from quaterni "four each, by fours," from quater "four times," related to quattuor "four" (see four). Also as a noun, "the number four" (mid-15c.), from Latin quaternarius.

In geological sense, attested from 1843 in English, proposed 1829 by French geologist Jules Pierre François Stanislas Desnoyers (1800-1887) as name for "the fourth great epoch of geological time," but because it comprises only the age of man, and the other epochs are many hundred times longer, not all accepted it.
Quatorze: in French terms, "fourteen," from French quatorze, from Latin quatuordecim (source also of Italian quattordici), from quatuor "four" (see four) + -decim (see -teen).
quatrain (n.): 1580s, from Middle French quatrain "four-line stanza" (16c.), from Old French quatre "four," from Latin quattuor "four" (see four).
quatrefoil (n.): "flower with four leaves," early 15c., from Old French quatrefoil, from quatre "four" (see four) + foil "leaf" (see foil (n.)).
quattrocento (n.): "the fifteenth century as a period in art and architecture," 1847, from Italian quattrocento, literally "four hundred," short for mille quattrocento "one thousand four hundred," in reference to a period beginning in "1400;" see four + hundred.
quaver (v.): "to vibrate, tremble," early 15c., probably a frequentative of cwavien "to tremble, shake" (early 13c.), which probably is related to Low German quabbeln "tremble," and possibly of imitative origin. Meaning "sing in trills or quavers" first recorded 1530s. Related: Quavered; quavering.
quaver (n.): 1560s, in music, "eighth note," from quaver (v.). Meaning "a tremble in the voice" is from 1748.
quay (n.): 1690s, variant of Middle English key, keye, caye "wharf" (c. 1300; mid-13c. in place names), from Old North French cai (Old French chai, 12c., Modern French quai) "sand bank," from Gaulish caium (5c.), from Old Celtic *kagio- "to encompass, enclose" (source also of Welsh cae "fence, hedge," Cornish ke "hedge"), from PIE *kagh- "to catch, seize; wickerwork, fence" (see hedge (n.)). Spelling altered in English by influence of French quai.
quean (n.): "young, robust woman," Old English cwene "woman," also "female serf, hussy, prostitute" (as in portcwene "public woman"), from Proto-Germanic *kwenon (source also of Old Saxon quan, Old High German quena, Old Norse kona, Gothic qino "wife, woman"); see queen. Popular 16c.-17c. in sense "hussy." Sense of "effeminate homosexual" is recorded from 1935, especially in Australian slang.
queasy (adj.): mid-15c., kyse, coysy, of uncertain origin, possibly from a Scandinavian source, such as Old Norse kveisa "boil," perhaps influenced by Anglo-French queisier, from Old French coisier "to wound, hurt, make uneasy," which seems to be from the same Germanic root as kveisa. But the history is obscure and evidences of development are wanting. Related: Queasily; queasiness.
Quebec: Canadian French province, from Micmac (Algonquian) /kepe:k/ "strait, narrows." Related: Quebecois (n. and adj.), from French Québecois.
Quechua (n.): Indian people of Peru and surrounding regions, 1811, from Spanish, from Quechua kechua "plunderer, destroyer." Also the name of their language. Related: Quechuan.
queen (n.): Old English cwen "queen, female ruler of a state, woman, wife," from Proto-Germanic *kwoeniz (source also of Old Saxon quan "wife," Old Norse kvaen, Gothic quens), ablaut variant of *kwenon (source of quean), from PIE *gwen- "woman, wife" supposedly originally "honored woman" (source also of Greek gyné "a woman, a wife;" Gaelic bean "woman;" Sanskrit janis "a woman," gná "wife of a god, a goddess;" Avestan jainish "wife;" Armenian kin "woman;" Old Church Slavonic zena, Old Prussian genna "woman;" Gothic qino "a woman, wife; qéns "a queen").

The original sense seems to have been "wife," specialized by Old English to "wife of a king." In Old Norse, still mostly of a wife generally, as in kvan-fang "marriage, taking of a wife," kvanlauss "unmarried, widowed," kvan-riki "the domineering of a wife." English is one of the few Indo-European languages to have a word for "queen" that is not a feminine derivative of a word for "king." The others are Scandinavian: Old Norse drottning, Danish dronning, Swedish drottning "queen," in Old Norse also "mistress," but these also are held to be ultimately from male words, such as Old Norse drottinn "master."

Used of chess piece from mid-15c. (as a verb in chess, in reference to a pawn that has reached the last rank, from 1789), of playing card from 1570s. Of bees from c. 1600 (until late 17c., they generally were thought to be kings; as in "Henry V," I.ii); queen bee in a figurative sense is from 1807. Meaning "male homosexual" (especially a feminine and ostentatious one) first certainly recorded 1924; probably here an alteration of quean, which is earlier in this sense. Queen Anne first used 1878 for "style characteristic of the time of Queen Anne of Great Britain and Ireland," who reigned 1702-14. Cincinnati, Ohio, has been the Queen City (of the West) since 1835.
queenly (adj.): mid-15c., from queen (n.) + -ly (1). Related: Queenliness.
Queens: New York City borough, named for Catherine of Braganza, queen of English King Charles II.
Queensberry Rules: drawn up 1867 by Sir John Sholto Douglas (1844-1900), 8th Marquis of Queensberry, to govern the sport of boxing in Great Britain.
Queensland: Australian state, founded 1859 and named for Queen Victoria of Great Britain.
queer (adj.): c. 1500, "strange, peculiar, eccentric," from Scottish, perhaps from Low German (Brunswick dialect) queer "oblique, off-center," related to German quer "oblique, perverse, odd," from Old High German twerh "oblique," from PIE root *terkw- "to turn, twist, wind" (see thwart (adv.)).

Sense of "homosexual" first recorded 1922; the noun in this sense is 1935, from the adjective. Related: Queerly. Queer studies as an academic discipline attested from 1994.
queer (v.): "to spoil, ruin," 1812, from queer (adj.). Related: Queered; queering. Earlier it meant "to puzzle, ridicule, cheat" (1790). To queer the pitch (1846) is in reference to the patter of an itinerant tradesman or showman (see pitch (n.1)).
These wanderers, and those who are still seen occasionally in the back streets of the metropolis, are said to 'go a-pitching ;' the spot they select for their performance is their 'pitch,' and any interruption of their feats, such as an accident, or the interference of a policeman, is said to 'queer the pitch,'--in other words, to spoil it. [Thomas Frost, "Circus Life and Circus Celebrities," London, 1875]
queerness (n.): 1680s, "strangeness," from queer (adj.) + -ness. Meaning "homosexuality" is from 1971.
quelch (v.): 1650s, shortening of squelch, perhaps influenced by quench. Related: Quelched; quelching.
quell (v.): Old English cwellan "to kill, murder, execute," from Proto-Germanic *kwaljanan (source also of Old English cwelan "to die," cwalu "violent death;" Old Saxon quellian "to torture, kill;" Old Norse kvelja "to torment;" Middle Dutch quelen "to vex, tease, torment;" Old High German quellan "to suffer pain," German quälen "to torment, torture"), from PIE root *gwele- (1) "to throw, reach," with extended sense of "to pierce" (source also of Armenian kelem "I torture;" Old Church Slavonic zali "pain;" Lithuanian galas "end," gela "agony," gelti "to sting;" see ballistics). Milder sense of "suppress, extinguish" developed by c. 1300. Related: Quelled; quelling.
queller (n.): Old English cwellere "killer," agent noun from cwellan (see quell).
quench (v.): Old English acwencan "to quench" (of fire, light), from Proto-Germanic *kwankjan, probably a causative form of root of Old English cwincan "to go out, be extinguished," Old Frisian kwinka. Related: Quenched; quenching.
Quentin: masc. proper name, from French, from Latin Quin(c)tianus, from quintus "the fifth." Roman children in large families often were named for their birth order (compare Sextius; also see Octavian). "[P]opular in France from the cult of St Quentin of Amiens, and brought to England by the Normans" ["Dictionary of English Surnames"], but the popular English form as a surname was Quinton.
Quercus (n.): Latin quercus "oak," from PIE *kwerkwu-, assimilated form of *perkwu- "oak" (see fir).
querent (n.): 1590s, originally in astrology, from Latin quaerentem, present participle of quaerere (see query (v.)).
quern (n.): Old English cweorn "hand-mill, mill," from PIE *gwere-na- "millstone" (source also of Old Norse kvern, Old Frisian quern, Old High German quirn, Gothic quirnus; Sanskrit grava "crushing stone;" Lithuanian girna "millstone," girnos "hand mills;" Old Church Slavonic zrunuvi "mills;" Welsh brevan "hand mill"), suffixed form of root *gwere- (2) "heavy" (see grave (adj.)).
querulous (adj.): c. 1400, from Old French querelos "quarrelsome, argumentative" and directly from Late Latin querulosus, from Latin querulus "full of complaints, complaining," from queri "to complain." Retains the original vowel of quarrel (n.1). Related: Querulously; querulousness.
query (n.): 1530s, quaere "a question," from Latin quaere "ask," imperative of quaerere "to seek, look for; strive, endeavor, strive to gain; ask, require, demand;" figuratively "seek mentally, seek to learn, make inquiry," probably ultimately from PIE *kwo-, root forming the stem of relative and interrogative pronouns (see who). Spelling Englished or altered c. 1600 by influence of inquiry.
query (v.): "to question," 1650s, from query (n.). Related: Queried; querying.
quesadilla (n.): Mexican tortilla with filling of cheese, etc., 1944, from Spanish, diminutive of quesada, "type of cheesecake," from queso "cheese," from Latin caeseus (see cheese (n.1)).
quest (n.): c. 1300, "an inquest;" early 14c., "a search for something" (especially of judicial inquiries or hounds seeking game), from Old French queste "search, quest, chase, hunt, pursuit; inquest, inquiry" (12c., Modern French quête), properly "the act of seeking," and directly from Medieval Latin questa "search, inquiry," alteration of Latin quaesitus (fem. quaesita) "sought-out, select," past participle of quaerere "seek, gain, ask" (see query (n.)). Romance sense of "adventure undertaken by a knight" (especially the search for the Grail) is attested from late 14c. Johnson's dictionary has questmonger "Starter of lawsuits or prosecutions."
quest (v.): mid-14c., "to seek game, hunt," from quest (n.) and from Old French quester "to search, hunt," from queste (n.). Related: Quested; questing.
question (n.): early 13c., "philosophical or theological problem;" early 14c. as "utterance meant to elicit an answer or discussion," also as "a difficulty, a doubt," from Anglo-French questiun, Old French question "question, difficulty, problem; legal inquest, interrogation, torture," from Latin quaestionem (nominative quaestio) "a seeking, a questioning, inquiry, examining, judicial investigation," noun of action from past participle stem of quaerere "ask, seek" (see query (v.)).

No question "undoubtedly" is from mid-15c; no questions asked "accountability not required" is from 1879 (especially in newspaper advertisements seeking the return of something lost or stolen). Question mark is from 1849, sometimes also question stop (1862), earlier interrogation point (1590s); figurative use is from 1869. To be out of the question (c. 1700) is to be not pertinent to the subject, hence "not to be considered."
question (v.): late 15c., from question (n.) and from Middle French questionner "ask questions, interrogate, torture" (13c.), from question (n.). Related: Questioned; questioning. Alternative questionize attested from 1847.
questionable (adj.): 1580s, "that may be interrogated;" c. 1600, "open to dispute, doubtful," from question (v.) + -able. Deprecatory sense of "dubious in character" is attested from 1806. Related: Questionably.
questioner (n.): 1550s, agent noun from question (v.).
questionnaire (n.): 1901, from French questionnaire "list of formal questions," from questionner "to question," (see question (v.)). Purists preferred native formation questionary (1540s); see -ary.
quetzal (n.): central American bird with brilliant plumage, 1827, from Spanish quetzal, from Aztec quetzalli the bird name, literally "tail-feather."
Quetzalcoatl (n.): plumed serpent god of the Toltecs and Aztecs, 1570s, from Nahuatl (Aztecan) quetzalli (see quetzal) + coatl "snake."