English
quarter
see also: Quarter
Pronunciation
  • (RP) IPA: /ˈk(w)ɔːtə/
  • (America) IPA: /ˈk(w)ɔɹ.tɚ/
  • (New Zealand) IPA: /ˈk(w)oː.tɘ/
Etymology 1

From Middle English quarter, from Anglo-Norman quarter, from Latin quartarius, from quartus.

Noun

quarter

  1. A fourth part of something.
    1. (in general sense) Each of four equal parts into which something can be divided; a fourth part. [from 14th c.]
      I ate a quarter of the pizza.
    2. (now, chiefly, historical) A measure of capacity used chiefly for grain or coal, varying greatly in quantity by time and location. [from 13th c.]
    3. A fourth part of a pound; approximately 113 grams. [from 14th c.]
    4. (historical) A measure of length; originally a fourth part of an ell, now chiefly a fourth part of a yard. [from 14th c.]
    5. (now, historical) A fourth part of the night; one of the watches or divisions of the night. [from 14th c.]
      • 1526, [William Tyndale, transl.], The Newe Testamẽt […] (Tyndale Bible), [Worms, Germany: Peter Schöffer], →OCLC ↗, Mark vj:[48]:
        And aboute the fourth quartre of the nyght, he cam unto them, walkinge apon the see [...].
    6. (now, chiefly, financial) A fourth part of the year; 3 months; a term or season. [from 14th c.]
    7. (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.]
    8. (now, chiefly, historical) A fourth part of a hundredweight. [from 15th c.]
    9. (heraldiccharge) 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.]
    10. (North America) A quarter-dollar, divided into 25 cents; the coin of that value minted in the United States or Canada. [from 18th c.]
    11. (sport) One of four equal periods into which a game is divided. [from 19th c.]
    12. (Chester, historical) A quarter of an acre or 40 roods.
  2. Place or position.
    1. A region or place. [from 13th c.]
      • 1667, John Milton, “(please specify the page number)”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC ↗; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC ↗:
        I am to haste, / And all who under me thir Banners wave, / Homeward with flying march where we possess / The Quarters of the North […] .
    2. Each of four parts into which the earth or sky is divided, corresponding to the four cardinal points of the compass. [from 14th c.]
    3. 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.]
    4. One's residence or dwelling-place; rooms, lodgings, especially as allocated to soldiers or domestic staff. [from 16th c.]
    5. (figurative, archaic) A topic or area of endeavour.
    6. (nautical) The aftmost part of a vessel's side, roughly from the last mast to the stern. [from 16th c.]
      • 1808–10, William Hickey (memoirist), 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.’
    7. (farriery) The part on either side of a horse's hoof between the toe and heel, the side of its coffin. [from 16th c.]
      • [1877], Anna Sewell, “A Strike for Liberty”, in Black Beauty: […], London: Jarrold and Sons, […], →OCLC ↗, part II, page 106 ↗:
        [A]t last she kicked right over the carriage pole and fell down, after giving me a severe blow on my near quarter.
  3. (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
    • 1897, National and English Review, page 499:
      It is something to have that sacerdotal position so frankly recognized; but, I repeat, the ground of objection is an extraordinary one, coming as it does from a Liberal quarter in politics.
    • 2003, The Advocate, page 44:
      V. Gene Robinson's installation as an Episcopal bishop was greeted largely by silence from gay quarters.
  4. (obsolete) Relations between people. [17th c.]
    • c. 1603–1604 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Othello, the Moore of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC ↗, [Act II, scene iii]:
      In quarter, and in terms like bride and groom.
    • 1625, Francis [Bacon], “Of Cunning”, in The Essayes […], 3rd edition, London: […] Iohn Haviland for Hanna Barret, →OCLC ↗:
      I knew two that were competitors for the secretary's place, […] and yet kept good quarter between themselves.
  5. Accommodation given to a defeated opponent; mercy; exemption from being killed. [from 17th c.]
  6. Short forms.
    1. (now, rare, rugby, American football) A quarterback. [from 19th c.]
    2. (military slang, now rare) A quartermaster; a quartermaster sergeant. [from 20th c.]
    3. A quarterfinal. [from 20th c.]
Synonyms Related terms Translations Translations
  • French: pièce de vingt-cinq cents , quarter
  • German: Vierteldollar
  • Italian: moneta di venticinque centesimi
  • Portuguese: moeda de vinte e cinco centavos
  • Russian: четверта́к
  • Spanish: (El Salvador) cora, (Panama) cuarto
Translations Translations Translations Adjective

quarter (not comparable)

  1. Pertaining to an aspect of a quarter.
  2. (chiefly) Consisting of a fourth part, a quarter (1⁄4, 25%).
    a quarter hour; a quarter century; a quarter note; a quarter pound
  3. (chiefly) Related to a three-month term, a quarter of a year.
    A quarter day is one terminating a quarter of the year.
    A quarter session is one held quarterly at the end of a quarter.
Antonyms Verb

quarter (quarters, present participle quartering; simple past and past participle quartered)

  1. (transitive) To divide into quarters; to divide by four.
  2. (transitive) To provide housing for military personnel or other equipment.
    Quarter the horses in the third stable.
  3. (intransitive) To lodge; to have a temporary residence.
  4. (transitive) To quartersaw.
  5. (transitive, historical) To execute (someone) by tying each limb to a different animal (such as a horse) and driving them in different directions.
  6. (heraldry) To display different coats of arms in the quarters of a shield.
Synonyms Antonyms Translations Translations Etymology 2

Borrowed from French cartayer.

Verb

quarter (quarters, present participle quartering; simple past and past participle quartered)

  1. (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.
    • 1821 September–October, [Thomas De Quincey], “(please specify the page)”, in Confessions of an English Opium-Eater, 2nd edition, London: […] [J. Moyes] for Taylor and Hessey, […], published 1823, →OCLC ↗:
      Every creature that met us would rely upon us for quartering
Quarter
Proper noun
  1. A village in South Lanarkshire, Scotland (OS grid ref NS7251).


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