quid

English

Wikipedia

Pronunciation

• IPA: /kwɪd/
• Rhymes: -ɪd

Etymology 1

From Latin quid (“what, something”), neuter singular of quis (“who”).

Noun

quid (plural quids)

1. The inherent nature of something.
2. (US, historical) A section of the Democratic-Republican Party between 1805 and 1811 (from tertium quid).

Etymology 2

Origin unknown.

Noun

quid (plural quid or rarely quids)

1. (historical) A sovereign or guinea.
2. (UK, colloquial) Pound sterling.

   Five quid for a sandwich? You're having a laugh!

3. (Australia, colloquial) pound (before the 1966 currency change)
4. (Ireland, colloquial) pound, punt
5. (Ireland, colloquial) euro

Synonyms

• (pound sterling):
  • pound, pound sterling
  • (slang): nicker, sov

Derived terms

• quids in

Etymology 3

Variant of cud.

Noun

quid (plural quids)

1. A piece of chewing tobacco.
   • {{quote-book|year=1901|author=[[s:Author:William Wymark Jacobs|W. W. Jacobs|title=Light Freights|chapter=1|page=1]|passage=He broke off to open a small brass tobacco-box and place a little quid of tobacco tenderly into a pouch in his left cheek, ...}}
2. (US, colloquial) the act of chewing such tobacco

Verb

quid (third-person singular simple present quids, present participle quidding, simple past and past participle quidded)

1. To chew tobacco
2. (of a horse) To let food drop from the mouth whilst chewing

See also

• bob
• buck
• dime
• nickel

• quarter
• Quidditch
• trey
• zac

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French

Etymology

From Latin quid.

Pronoun

quid

1. what about

   Quid de la transparence du programme ?

Synonyms

• Qu'en est-il de...
• Qu'est-il advenu de...

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Italian

Noun

quid m (invariable)

1. A certain something (that is somehow undefinable)

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Latin

Etymology

From Proto-Indo-European *kʷid, cf. *kʷis.

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA: /kʷid/

• Audio (Classical)

  (file)

Conjunction

quid n

1. why
   • Gesta Danorum (“deeds of the Danes”) by Saxo Grammaticus (in Latin caput 8, liber 1, translation in English chapter 8, book 1)

     Quid gladio pugnas incurvo?

     Why do you fight with a bent sword?

2. what

Derived terms

• quid tibi nomen est?
• quid nomen tibi est?
• quid ni?/quidni? (why not?)
• quid ita? (why so?)
• quid si? (how if?)

  Quid si illud addimus.

• quid tum? (what then? how then?)
• quid ergo (ironically)
• quid agis?
• quid ais?

Related terms

• quod
• quis

Pronoun

quid n (interrogative pronoun)

1. Neuter of quis]].

   Quid dico?

   What do I say?

Descendants

• Aromanian: tsi
• Catalan: què
• French: que, quoi
• Friulian: ce
• Italian: che
• Occitan: qué

• Portuguese: que
• Romanian: ce
• Romansch: tge
• Sicilian: chi
• Spanish: que

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Spanish

Noun

quid m

1. gist; point; crux