quam

See also: Quam, quặm, and QAM

Latin

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /kʷam/, [kʷä̃ˑ]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /kwam/, [kwäm]

Etymology 1

From Proto-Indo-European *kʷeh₂m, accusative of *kʷeh₂, feminine of *kʷos, *kʷis. Compare its masculine form cum (as in tum-tam).

"In such a sentence as hic tam beatus est, quam ille the sense of tam beatus could equally be rendered by non beatior. It was presumably by the substitution of equivalent expressions ('contamination'), possibly first in negative expressions, that the illogical quam 'as' came to be used after comparatives."

Alternative forms

• quāmde, quānde

Conjunction

quam

1. in what (which) way, to what (which) degree; how, how much, as much as, as far as

   Quam potuit.

   In what way/ to what degree/ how/ how much/ as much as/ as far as he could.

   Quam rogas!

   How much you ask!

2. (in comparisons) as

   Tam similis est, quam potest.

   So similar it is, as it can.

3. (after comparative nouns) than

   Hic maior est, quam ille.

   This is bigger, than that.

   • AD 4th C., St Jerome, Vulgate, Tobias 2:9:

     sed Tobias plus timens Deum quam regem rapiebat corpora occisorum et occultabat in domo sua et mediis noctibus sepeliebat ea

     But Tobias fearing God more than the king, carried off the bodies of them that were slain, and hid them in his house, and at midnight buried them.

Coordinate terms

• tam

Derived terms

• perquam
• priusquam
• quamdiū
• quamquam
• quamvis
• quandō
• quantus
• quasi
• quisquam
• quōquam
• tamquam
• umquam
• usquam

Related terms

Latin correlatives ^(edit)

type	demonstrative			anaphoric	identity	interrogative/ relative	indefinite					negative	other
	proximal	medial	distal				relative	indefinite	universal	free choice	negative polarity
basic	hic	iste, istic	ille, illic	is	ipse, īdem	quis/quī	quisquis, quīcumque	quis, quī, quīdam, aliquis, aliquī, quispiam	quisque	quīvis, quīlibet	quisquam, ūllus, °aliquisquam	nēmō, nihil, nūllus	alius
dual						uter	utercumque	alteruter	uterque	utervīs, uterlibet		neuter	alter
place	hīc	istīc	illīc	ibī̆	ibī̆dem	ubī̆	ubiubi, ubī̆cumque	alicubī, uspiam	ubīque	ubivīs, ubilibet	usquam	nusquam, nūllibī	alibī, aliās
source	hinc	istinc	illinc	inde	indidem	unde	undecumque, undeunde	alicunde	undique	°undelibet			aliunde
destination	hūc, °hōrsum	istūc, °istōrsum	illūc, °illōrsum	eō	eōdem	quō, quōrsum	quōquō, quōcumque	aliquō, quōpiam, °aliquōvorsum		quōvīs, quōlibet	quōquam	nusquam, nūllōrsum	aliō, aliōrsum
method, means, path, place	hāc	istāc	illāc	eā	eādem	quā	quāquā, quācumque	aliquā	quāque	quāvīs, quālibet		nēquāquam, haudquāquam	aliā
manner	hōc modō	istō modō	illō modō	ita, sīc, eō modō	item, itidem	ut, quī, quō modō, quōmodo, quemadmodum	utut, utcumque, quōmodocumque	quī, quōdam modō, aliquō modō	utique	quōmodolibet	ūllō modō	nūllō modō	aliter, aliōquī, alterō/aliō modō
time	num, nunc		ōlim	tum, tunc	simul	quandō, ‡cum	cumque, quandōcumque, quandōque	quondam, aliquandō	quandōque	quandōlibet	umquam	numquam	aliās
quantity				tam	†tamen, †tandem	quam	†quamquam	aliquam		quamvīs, quamlibet
size				tantus	tantusdem	quantus	quantuscumque	aliquantus		quantusvīs, quantuslibet
quality				tālis		quālis	quālis, quāliscumque	aliquālis		quālislibet
number				tot	totidem	quot	quotquot, quotcumque	aliquot		quotlibet
order				totus		quotus	quotuscumque	aliquotus		quotuslibet
repetition				totiēns		quotiēns	quotiēnscumque	aliquotiēns		quotiēnslibet
multiplication				totuplex		quotuplex
† Turned conjunction with original meaning somewhat dissimulated ° Rare ‡only used as a conjunction, not as an interrogative

Descendants

• French: que
• Romanian: can
• Portuguese: quão, ca
• Romanian: ca
• Spanish: cuan

References

• “quam”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “quam”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• quam in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)
• quam in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette, pages 1,290–1,291.
• Carl Meißner, Henry William Auden (1894) Latin Phrase-Book‎^[1], London: Macmillan and Co.
  • (ambiguous) I cannot wait till..: nihil mihi longius est or videtur quam dum or quam ut
    
  • (ambiguous) nothing is more tiresome to me than..: nihil mihi longius est quam (c. Inf.)
    
  • (ambiguous) it is more than twenty years ago: amplius sunt (quam) viginti anni or viginti annis
    
  • (ambiguous) Plato's ideal republic: illa civitas, quam Plato finxit
    
  • (ambiguous) this is more plausible than true: haec speciosiora quam veriora sunt
    
  • (ambiguous) I have exhausted all my material: copiam quam potui persecutus sum
    
  • (ambiguous) there is nothing I am more interested in than..: nihil antiquius or prius habeo quam ut (nihil mihi antiquius or potius est, quam ut)
    
  • (ambiguous) by the longest possible forced marches: quam maximis itineribus (potest)
    
• quam in Ramminger, Johann (2024 June 29 (last accessed)) Neulateinische Wortliste: Ein Wörterbuch des Lateinischen von Petrarca bis 1700‎^[2], pre-publication website, 2005-2016
• “quam” on pages 1,537–1,538 of the Oxford Latin Dictionary (1st ed., 1968–82)

Etymology 2

See quī (relative pronoun and interrogative adjective).

Pronoun

1. accusative singular feminine of quī

Adjective

(deprecated template usage) quam

1. accusative singular feminine of quī

Etymology 3

See quis (pronoun).

Pronoun

1. accusative singular feminine of quis

---

Middle Dutch

Verb

quam

1. first/third-person singular past indicative of cōmen