English Online Dictionary. What means quarter? What does quarter mean?
English
Pronunciation
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈk(w)ɔːtə/
- (General American) IPA(key): /ˈk(w)ɔɹ.tɚ/
- (New Zealand) IPA(key): /ˈk(w)oː.tɘ/
- Rhymes: -ɔː(ɹ)tə(ɹ)
Etymology 1
From Middle English quarter, from Anglo-Norman quarter, from Latin quartarius, from quartus. Compare Spanish cuarto (“room, quarters; quarter”). Doublet of quartier.
Noun
quarter (countable and uncountable, plural quarters)
- A fourth part of something.
- (in general sense) Each of four equal parts into which something can be divided; a fourth part. [from 14th c.]
- (now chiefly historical) A measure of capacity used chiefly for grain or coal, varying greatly in quantity by time and location. [from 13th c.]
- A fourth part of a pound; approximately 113 grams. [from 14th c.]
- (historical) A measure of length; originally a fourth part of an ell, now chiefly a fourth part of a yard. [from 14th c.]
- (now historical) A fourth part of the night; one of the watches or divisions of the night. [from 14th c.]
- (now chiefly financial) A fourth part of the year; 3 months; a term or season. [from 14th c.]
- (time) A fourth part of an hour; a period of fifteen minutes, especially with reference to the quarter before or after the hour. [from 15th c.]
- (now chiefly historical) A fourth part of a hundredweight. [from 15th c.]
- (heraldry) A fourth part of a coat of arms, or the charge on it, larger than a canton and normally on the upper dexter side, formed by a perpendicular line from the top meeting a horizontal line from the side. [from 15th c.]
- (Canada, US) A quarter-dollar, divided into 25 cents; the coin of that value minted in the United States or Canada. [from 18th c.]
- (sports) One of four equal periods into which a game is divided. [from 19th c.]
- (Chester, historical) A quarter of an acre or 40 roods.
- (in general sense) Each of four equal parts into which something can be divided; a fourth part. [from 14th c.]
- Place or position.
- A region or place. [from 13th c.]
- Each of four parts into which the earth or sky is divided, corresponding to the four cardinal points of the compass. [from 14th c.]
- A division or section of a town or city, especially having a particular character of its own, or associated with a particular group etc. [from 16th c.]
- One's residence or dwelling-place; (in plural) rooms, lodgings, especially as allocated to soldiers or domestic staff. [from 16th c.]
- (figurative, archaic) A topic or area of endeavour.
- (nautical) The aftmost part of a vessel's side, roughly from the last mast to the stern. [from 16th c.]
- 1808–10, William Hickey, Memoirs of a Georgian Rake, Folio Society 1995, p. 80:
- I was one morning walking the deck, when Rogers, whose watch it was, sitting upon the quarter, called to me in his usual style, ‘Come here, Bill.’
- 1808–10, William Hickey, Memoirs of a Georgian Rake, Folio Society 1995, p. 80:
- (farriery) The part on either side of a horse's hoof between the toe and heel, the side of its coffin. [from 16th c.]
- A region or place. [from 13th c.]
- (often plural) A section (of a population), especially one having a particular set of values or interests.
- opposition to the policy came from an unexpected quarter, as well as from certain quarters which had historically opposed it
- all quarters of the socialist movement; praise from Conservative quarters
- (obsolete) Relations between people. [17th c.]
- Accommodation given to a defeated opponent; mercy; exemption from being killed. [from 17th c.]
- Short forms.
- (now rare, rugby, American football) A quarterback. [from 19th c.]
- (military slang, now rare) A quartermaster; a quartermaster sergeant. [from 20th c.]
- A quarterfinal. [from 20th c.]
Synonyms
- (one of four equal parts): fourth, fourth part, one-fourth, one-quarter, ¼
- (period of three consecutive months): trimester, cour
- (section of a town): district; ward; neighborhood; ghetto (pejorative); borough (New York City); capitoulate (Toulouse, historical)
Derived terms
Related terms
- quart
Translations
References
Adjective
quarter (not comparable)
- Pertaining to an aspect of a quarter.
- (chiefly) Consisting of a fourth part, a quarter (1⁄4, 25%).
- (chiefly) Related to a three-month term, a quarter of a year.
Usage notes
Often used in a combining form quarter-.
Antonyms
- quadruple
Derived terms
Verb
quarter (third-person singular simple present quarters, present participle quartering, simple past and past participle quartered)
- (transitive) To divide into quarters; to divide by four.
- (transitive) To provide housing for military personnel or other equipment.
- (intransitive) To lodge; to have a temporary residence.
- (transitive) To quartersaw.
- (transitive, historical) To execute (someone) by tying each limb to a different animal (such as a horse) and driving them in different directions.
- (heraldry) To display different coats of arms in the quarters of a shield.
Synonyms
- (to have a temporary residence): stay over, stop; See also Thesaurus:sojourn
Antonyms
- quadruple (multiply by four)
Translations
See also
- draw and quarter
References
- Adjective
- "quarter" at Merriam-Webster
- "quarter" in Harrap's Shorter, 2006, p. 761
Etymology 2
Borrowed from French cartayer.
Verb
quarter (third-person singular simple present quarters, present participle quartering, simple past and past participle quartered)
- (obsolete) To drive a carriage so as to prevent the wheels from going into the ruts, or so that a rut shall be between the wheels.
Catalan
Etymology
Inherited from Latin quārtārius. In the military senses, influenced by French quartier.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): (Central, Balearic) [kwərˈte]
- IPA(key): (Valencia) [kwaɾˈteɾ]
Noun
quarter m (plural quarters)
- fourth (especially of an animal)
- quarter
- (nautical) trapdoor
Synonyms
- (fourth): quart
- (urban area): barri, districte
- (barracks): caserna
Derived terms
Further reading
- “quarter” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
- “quarter”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2024
- “quarter” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
- “quarter” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.
French
Etymology
From English.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /kwaʁ.tɛʁ/
Noun
quarter m (plural quarters)
- quarter (old measure of corn)
Further reading
- “quarter”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.
Anagrams
- traquer
Middle English
Alternative forms
- quartere, quartier, quartre, quater, quatere, quatter, qwarter, wharter
Etymology
Borrowed from Anglo-Norman quarter, from Latin quartārius.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /kwarˈteːr/, /ˈkwartər/
Noun
quarter (plural quarters)
- A quarter (fourth part of something):
- A quarter of a whole chicken.
- One of the four divisions of the earth or sky.
- A quarter of the year; a three-month period.
- A quarter of the night; a three-hour period.
- A quarter of an hour; a 15-minute period.
- One of the moon's four phases.
- (heraldry) A fourth part of a coat of arms.
- One of various units of measure:
- A unit of capacity (being a quarter of another measure).
- A unit of weight (often a quarter of an ounce or pound).
- A unit of length (nine inches; being quarter of an ell).
- Any part, portion, or fragment.
- A region, locale or place.
- A certain fencing maneuver.
- (rare) A direction; a way.
Descendants
- English: quarter
- Scots: quarter, corter
- Yola: curthere, cortere
References
- “quartẹ̄̆r(e, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.
Old French
Alternative forms
- quartier (chiefly mainland Europe)
Noun
quarter oblique singular, m (oblique plural quarters, nominative singular quarters, nominative plural quarter)
- (chiefly Anglo-Norman) quarter (one fourth)
References
- quarter on the Anglo-Norman On-Line Hub
- Godefroy, Frédéric, Dictionnaire de l’ancienne langue française et de tous ses dialectes du IXe au XVe siècle (1881) (quartier, supplement)