quart meaning: definition, etymology and quotations

quart

noun

UK /kwɔːt/ · US /kwɔɹt/

Etymology From Middle English quart, quarte, from Old French quarte, carte, from Latin quartus (“one-fourth”). Cognate with Spanish cuarto (“quarter; room, quarters”).

1

A unit of liquid capacity equal to two pints; one-fourth (quarter) of a gallon. Equivalent to 1.136 liters in the UK and 0.946 liter (liquid quart) or 1.101 liters (dry quart) in the U.S.

2

Card games, Games Four successive cards of the same suit.

A tierce major is good against any other tierce; a quart minor is good against a tierce major.1908, Cavendish, The laws of piquet adopted:
Carrados ought to have won the point and divided tricks, leaving his opponent a minor quart and a solitary trio—about 15 on the hand. By a careless discard he threw away both chances and the final score stood at 205-112.1923, Ernest Bramah [pseudonym; Ernest Brammah Smith], “(please specify the page)”, in The Eyes of Max Carrados, London: Grant Richards, →OCLC:

3

Obsolete A fourth; a quarter; hence, a region of the earth.

Camber did possesse the Westerne quart.1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book II, Canto X”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC, stanza 14:

4

Fencing, Government, Hobbies, Lifestyle, Martial arts, Military, Politics, Sports, War The fourth defensive position; quarte.

[W]e behold two men with lion-look, with alert attitude, side foremost, right foot advanced; flourishing and thrusting, stoccado and passado, in tierce and quart; intent to skewer one another.1837, Thomas Carlyle, The French Revolution: A History […], volume (please specify |volume=I to III), London: Chapman and Hall, →OCLC, (please specify the book or page number):

Derived terms: quartary, quartful, reputed quart

quart

adj

Etymology From Middle English quarte, querte, from Old Norse kyrt, *kvirt, neuter of Old Norse kyrr, kvirr (“quiet, still, peaceful”), from Proto-Germanic *kwerruz (“calm, satisfied, pacified”), from Proto-Indo-European *gʷerh₂- (“heavy”). Cognate with Scots quert, quart (“alive, in good health, sound”), Scots querty (“vivacious, active, in good spirits”), Danish kvær (“quiet”), Norwegian Nynorsk kvar, kvær, kverr (“still, quiet”), Icelandic kyrr (“still, calm, unmoving”).

1

Dialectal, Obsolete Safe, sound; healthy.

quart

adv

Etymology Dialectal alteration of thwart.

1

Dialectal Crosswise; across.

quart

verb

Etymology Dialectal alteration of thwart.

1

Dialectal To thwart.

Related terms: quart-pot, quatre quart, quatre-quart, Winchester quart, you can't get a quart into a pint pot

quart

noun

Etymology From Middle English quarte, querte, from Old Norse kyrt, *kvirt, neuter of Old Norse kyrr, kvirr (“quiet, still, peaceful”), from Proto-Germanic *kwerruz (“calm, satisfied, pacified”), from Proto-Indo-European *gʷerh₂- (“heavy”). Cognate with Scots quert, quart (“alive, in good health, sound”), Scots querty (“vivacious, active, in good spirits”), Danish kvær (“quiet”), Norwegian Nynorsk kvar, kvær, kverr (“still, quiet”), Icelandic kyrr (“still, calm, unmoving”).

1

Obsolete Safety, soundness; health.

Now if ye felt your belly in ſuche caſe, that ye muſt be fayne al daye to tende it with warme clothes, oꝛ els ye were not able to abide the payne, would ye recken your belly ſicke oꝛ whole? I wene ye would recken your belly not in good quart.c. 1522 (date written), Thomas More, “A Treatyce (Vnfynyshed) vppon These Wordes of Holye Scrypture, Memorare Nouissima, & Ineternum non Peccabis, Remember the Last Thynges, and Thou shalt Neuer Synne. […]”, in Wyllyam Rastell [i.e., William Rastell], editor, The Workes of Sir Thomas More Knyght, […], London: […] Iohn Cawod, Iohn Waly, and Richarde Tottell, published 30 April 1557, →OCLC, book I, page 80, column 1:

quart

adj

Etymology Dialectal alteration of thwart.

1

Dialectal Transverse.

2

Dialectal Contentious or quarrelsome.