cuartillo

English

Etymology 1

From Spanish cuartillo (“¹⁄₄₈ Castilian bushel, &c.”), from Old Spanish quartillo (“little fourth”) in reference to its forming a fourth celemin, from quarto + -illo (“-elle: forming diminutives”), from Latin quartus (“one-fourth”). Doublet of cuartilla and quartilho.

Noun

cuartillo (plural cuartillos)

1. (historical) A traditional Castilian unit of dry measure, equivalent to about 1.2 L.
2. (historical) A traditional Castilian unit of liquid measure, equivalent to about 0.5 L.
3. (historical) A former coin in Spain and parts of Latin America equal to a quarter-real.

Coordinate terms

• (unit of dry volume): medio (2 cuartillos), celemin (4 cuartillos), cuartilla (12 cuartillos), hemina (20 cuartillos), cuarto (24 cuartillos), fanega (48 cuartillos), saco (96 cuartillos), carga (192 cuartillos), cahiz (576 cuartillos)
• (unit of liquid volume): azumbre (4 cuartillos)
• (former coin): real (4 cuartillos), peso (32 cuartillos, in some contexts)

Etymology 2

From Galician cuartillo (“¹⁄₁₂₀ Galician bushel”), from Old Galician-Portuguese quartillo, from Old Spanish quartillo (“little fourth”), &c.

Noun

cuartillo (plural cuartillos)

1. (historical) A traditional Galician unit of dry measure, equivalent to about 0.5–0.75 L depending on the substance measured.
2. (historical) A traditional Galician unit of land area reckoned as the amount needed to sow a cuartillo of seed, varying from 2.5–30 m² in different parts of Galicia.

Coordinate terms

• (unit of volume): cunca (2 cuartillos), esca (12 cuartillos), ferrado (24 cuartillos), fanega (120 cuartillos)
• (unit of area): cunca (2 cuartillos), ferrado (24 cuartillos)

Galician

Etymology

From Old Galician-Portuguese quartillo, from Old Spanish quartillo (“little fourth”), from quarto + -illo (“-elle: forming diminutives”), from Latin quartus (“one-fourth”). Named for its relation to the celamín of grain. Cognate with Spanish cuartillo and Portuguese quartilho.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kwaɾˈtiʎo̝/

Noun

cuartillo m (plural cuartillos)

1. (historical) cuartillo, a traditional unit of dry measure equivalent to about 0.5–0.75 L depending on the substance measured
2. (historical) cuartillo, a traditional unit of land area reckoned as the amount of land that can be sown with a cuartillo of seed, varying from 2.5–30 m² in different parts of Galicia
3. (historical) Synonym of neto, a traditional unit of liquid measure

Coordinate terms

• (unit of volume): cunca (2 cuartillos), escá (12 cuartillos), ferrado (24 cuartillos), fanega (120 cuartillos)
• (unit of area): cunca (2 cuartillos), ferrado (24 cuartillos)

References

• “quartill” in Xavier Varela Barreiro & Xavier Gómez Guinovart: Corpus Xelmírez - Corpus lingüístico da Galicia medieval. SLI / Grupo TALG / ILG, 2006–2018.
• “cuartillo” in Dicionario de Dicionarios da lingua galega, SLI - ILGA 2006–2013.
• “cuartillo” in Tesouro informatizado da lingua galega. Santiago: ILG.
• “cuartillo” in Álvarez, Rosario (coord.): Tesouro do léxico patrimonial galego e portugués, Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega.

Spanish

Etymology

Inherited from Old Spanish quartillo (“little fourth”), from quarto + -illo (“-elle: forming diminutives”), from Latin quartus (“one-fourth”). Equivalent to cuarto (“fourth”) +‎ -illo (“-elle: forming diminutives”). Doublet of cuartilla. Cognate with Galician cuartillo and Portuguese quartilho.

Noun

cuartillo m (plural cuartillos)

1. (historical) cuartillo, quarter-celemin (a traditional unit of dry measure equivalent to about 1.2 L)
2. (historical) cuartillo, quarter-azumbre (a traditional unit of liquid measure equivalent to about 0.5 L)
3. (historical) cuartillo, quarter-real (a former coin or unit of account in Spain and parts of Latin America)

Coordinate terms

• (unit of dry volume): medio (2 cuartillos), celemín (4 cuartillos), cuartilla (12 cuartillos), hemina (20 cuartillos), cuarto (24 cuartillos), fanega (48 cuartillos), saco (96 cuartillos), carga (192 cuartillos), cahíz (576 cuartillos)
• (unit of liquid volume): azumbre (4 cuartillos)
• (former coin): real (4 cuartillos), peso (32 cuartillos, in some contexts)

Derived terms

• andar a tres menos cuartillo
• ir de cuartillo

 

Further reading

• “cuartillo”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014