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260 entries found
quickset (adj.)
"formed of living plants," 1530s, from quick (adj.) + set (v.).
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quicksilver (n.)

common popular name of the metal mercury, Old English cwicseolfor, literally "living silver," so called for its mobility, translating Latin argentum vivum (source also of Italian argento vivo), literally "living silver;" so called from its liquid mobility. See quick (adj.) + silver (n.). Similar formation in Dutch kwikzilver, Old High German quecsilbar, German quecksilber, French vif-argent, Italian argenta viva.

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quid (n.1)
"bite-sized piece" (of tobacco, etc.), 1727, dialectal variant of Middle English cudde, from Old English cudu, cwidu (see cud).
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quid (n.2)
"one pound sterling," 1680s, British slang, possibly from quid "that which is, essence," (c. 1600, see quiddity), as used in quid pro quo (q.v.), or directly from Latin quid "what, something, anything." Compare French quibus, noted in Barrêre's dictionary of French argot (1889) for "money, cash," said to be short for quibus fiunt omnia.
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quid pro quo 
1560s, from Latin, literally "something for something, one thing for another," from nominative and ablative neuter singulars of relative pronoun qui "who" (from PIE root *kwo-, stem of relative and interrogative pronouns) + pro "for" (see pro-) + quo, ablative of quid.
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quiddity (n.)
"a trifling nicety in argument, a quibble," 1530s, from Medieval Latin quidditas "the essence of things," in Scholastic philosophy, "that which distinguishes a thing from other things," literally "whatness," from Latin quid "what," neuter of indefinite pronoun quis "somebody, someone or other" (from PIE root *kwo-, stem of relative and interrogative pronouns). Sense developed from scholastic disputes over the nature of things. Original classical meaning "real essence or nature of a thing" is attested in English from late 14c.
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quidnunc (n.)
"gossip-monger," 1709, formed from Latin quid "what?" (neuter of interrogative pronoun quis "who?" from PIE root *kwo-, stem of relative and interrogative pronouns) and nunc "now" (see now), to describe someone forever asking "What's the news?"
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quiesce (v.)
1821, from Latin quiescere "to rest," from suffixed form of PIE root *kweie- "to rest, be quiet."
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quiescence (n.)
1630s, from Latin quiescentia, from quiescere "to rest" (from suffixed form of PIE root *kweie- "to rest, be quiet").
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quiescent (adj.)
c. 1600, from Latin quiescentem (nominative quiescens), present participle of quiescere, inchoative verb formed from quies "rest, quiet" (from suffixed form of PIE root *kweie- "to rest, be quiet").
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