quoth meaning (archaic): definition, etymology and quotations

quoth

verb

UK /kwəʊθ/ · US /kwoʊθ/

Etymology From Middle English quoth, quath, from Old English cwæþ (first and third person past indicative of cweþan (“to say, speak to, address, exhort, admonish”)), from Proto-Germanic *kwaþ (first and third person past indicative of Proto-Germanic *kweþaną (“to say”)). Unrelated to quote.

Archaic, Defective, Literary said

Tell me what thy lordly name is on the Night's Plutonian shore! / Quoth the raven, "Nevermore."1845 February, — Quarles [pseudonym; Edgar Allan Poe], “The Raven”, in The American Review, volume I, number II, New York, N.Y.; London: Wiley & Putnam, […], →OCLC:
“Pull, if ye never pull’d before; / Good ringers, pull your best,” quoth he.a. 1897, Jean Ingelow, The Brides of Enderby:

1 more example

“Good morrow to thee, jolly fellow,” quoth Robin, “thou seemest happy this merry morn.” ¶ “Ay, that am I,” quoth the jolly Butcher, “and why should I not be so? Am I not hale in wind and limb? Have I not the bonniest lass in all Nottinghamshire? And lastly, am I not to be married to her on Thursday next in sweet Locksley Town?”1883, Howard Pyle, chapter V, in The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood […], New York, N.Y.: […] Charles Scribner’s Sons […], →OCLC:

Derived terms: quotha

quoth

verb

Archaic, Defective, Modal, Nonstandard To say.

But the Healing-one stood before the under-king, and the under-king arraigned him, quothing, thou art the king of the Jews? the Healing-one quoths him, thou quoths.1807, Samuel Henshall, The Gothic Gospel of Saint Matthew, from the Codex Argenteus of the Fourth Century; with the Corresponding English, or Saxon, from the Durham Book of the Eighth Century, in Roman Characters; […], London: […] J. White, […], chapter XXVII, page 71:
The owner had the power of transmitting the possession to an heir by bequest, by quothing or speaking forth the name of the intended successor to the lord.1864, Francis Palgrave, “The Conqueror, from Hastings to the Coronation. 1066.”, in The History of Normandy and of England, volumes III (Richard Sans-Peur—Richard Le-Bon—Richard III.—Robert Le-Diable—William the Conqueror), London: Macmillan & Co., page 402:

4 more examples

“Why, no,” quothed Jonathan; “for to tell thee the truth, friend, though I am a man of peace, being of that religious order known as the Society of Friends, I am not so weak in person nor so timid in disposition as to warrant me in being afraid of any one.[…]”1908, Howard Pyle, “The Mysterious Lady With the Silver Veil”, in The Ruby of Kishmoor, New York, N.Y.; London: Harper & Brothers Publishers, page 15:
The old cow laughs, for she feels sure of a square dear now; and the wise riven quoths; quoths he: “Tis well done, let the good work go on,”[…]1909, Dairy Foods Review, page 13:
“’Ods blood!” quoths Lee, “’Tis ‘Honey Dew.’”1916, The Pottery & Glass Salesman, page 21, column 3:
Gunn-ar quoths to Eve: “Hail dawn![…]”1930, L[aurence] A[ustine] Waddell, The British Edda: The Great Epic Poem of the Ancient Britons on the Exploits of King Thor, Arthur or Adam and his Knights in Establishing Civilization Reforming Eden & Capturing the Holy Grail About 3380-3350 B.C., London: Chapman & Hall Ltd., page 93:

Related terms: quote, say