quisquam

Latin

Etymology

From quis + quam (“any”). Compare to quisque.

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /ˈkʷis.kʷam/, [ˈkʷɪs̠kʷä̃ˑ]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈkwis.kwam/, [ˈkwiskwäm]

Pronoun

quisquam or quīquam (feminine quaequam, neuter quidquam or quicquam); relative/interrogative pronoun with an indeclinable portion

1. anyone
2. anything

Declension

Indefinite pronoun.

Number	Singular				Plural
Case / Gender	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter		Masculine	Feminine	Neuter
Nominative	quisquam quīquam1	quaequam	quidquam		quīquam1	quaequam	quaequam quaquam2
Genitive	cuiusquam1				quōrumquam	quārumquam	quōrumquam
Dative	cuiquam1				quibusquam quīsquam1
Accusative	quemquam	quamquam	quidquam		quōsquam	quāsquam	quaequam quaquam2
Ablative	quōquam quīquam	quāquam quīquam	quōquam quīquam		quibusquam quīsquam1

¹In Republican Latin or earlier, alternative spellings could be found for the following forms of quī/quis and its compounds: the masculine nominative singular or plural quī (old spelling quei), the genitive singular cuius (old spelling quoius), the dative singular cui (old spelling quoi or quoiei), the dative/ablative plural quīs (old spelling queis).
²When used as an indefinite word (pronoun or adjective), the feminine nominative singular and neuter nominative/accusative plural is usually qua (with short ă) instead of quae. Indefinite quă is generally only found directly after sī, nisi, num, or nē and may be considered to be either enclitic to the preceding word or (in Priscian's view) forming a compound with it; accordingly, sīqua, numqua, and nēqua are sometimes written together (as also are the masculines sīquis, numquis, and nēquis). The form quă is never used for the feminine plural, nor for any form of the relative pronoun or of the interrogative pronoun or adjective. Indefinite pronoun (with d → c assimilation).

Number	Singular				Plural
Case / Gender	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter		Masculine	Feminine	Neuter
Nominative	quisquam quīquam1	quaequam	quicquam		quīquam1	quaequam	quaequam quaquam2
Genitive	cuiusquam1				quōrumquam	quārumquam	quōrumquam
Dative	cuiquam1				quibusquam quīsquam1
Accusative	quemquam	quamquam	quicquam		quōsquam	quāsquam	quaequam quaquam2
Ablative	quōquam quīquam	quāquam quīquam	quōquam quīquam		quibusquam quīsquam1

¹In Republican Latin or earlier, alternative spellings could be found for the following forms of quī/quis and its compounds: the masculine nominative singular or plural quī (old spelling quei), the genitive singular cuius (old spelling quoius), the dative singular cui (old spelling quoi or quoiei), the dative/ablative plural quīs (old spelling queis).
²When used as an indefinite word (pronoun or adjective), the feminine nominative singular and neuter nominative/accusative plural is usually qua (with short ă) instead of quae. Indefinite quă is generally only found directly after sī, nisi, num, or nē and may be considered to be either enclitic to the preceding word or (in Priscian's view) forming a compound with it; accordingly, sīqua, numqua, and nēqua are sometimes written together (as also are the masculines sīquis, numquis, and nēquis). The form quă is never used for the feminine plural, nor for any form of the relative pronoun or of the interrogative pronoun or adjective.

Citations

• Plautus, Bacchides. In: Plautus with an English translation by Paul Nixon, vol. I of five volumes, 1916, p. 330f.:

  ne a quoquam acciperes alio mercedem annuam, nisi ab sese, nec cum quiquam limares caput.

  Not to let you take a yearly fee from anyone else but him, or rub heads with anyone.

• Plautus, Menaechmi, actus III. In: Plautus with an English translation by Paul Nixon, vol. II of five volumes, 1917, p. 408f.:

  Plus triginta annis natus sum, quom interea loci,
  numquam quicquam facinus feci peius neque scelestius,
  quam hodie, quom in contionem mediam me immersi miser.

  More than thirty years I've lived, and never in all that time have I done a worse or more accursed deed than to-day when I immersed myself, poor fool, in the middle of that public meeting.

• Plautus, Cistellaria. In: Plautus with an English translation by Paul Nixon, vol. II of five volumes, 1917, p. 120f.:

  quod neque ego habeo neque quisquam alia mulier, ut perhibent viri.

  A mind is something I haven't got, or any other women, either, according to the men.

• Plautus, Mostellaria. In: Plautus with an English translation by Paul Nixon, vol. III of five volumes, 1924, p. 352f.:

  ultro te. neque ego taetriorem beluam
  vidisse me umquam quemquam quam te censeo.

  Off with you! I do believe I never saw a more disgusting beast than you.

• Plautus, Rudens. In: Plautus with an English translation by Paul Nixon, vol. IV of five volumes, 1930, p. 326f.:

  neque digniorem censeo vidisse anum me quemquam,
  cui deos atque homines censeam bene facere magis decere.

  I think I never did see a dearer old lady, one I think more deserving of all the good things gods and man can give.

• Plautus, Miles gloriosus. In: Plautus with an English translation by Paul Nixon, vol. III of five volumes, 1924, p. 236f.:

  dixi hoc tibi dudum, et nunc dico: nisi huic verri adfertur merces,
  non hic suo seminio quemquam porclenam impertiturust.

  I told you this before, and I tell you again: this boar must receive compensation, or he won't consort with every little sowlet.

  Note: Friedrich Neue, Formenlehre der Lateinischen Sprache, 2nd part, 2nd edition, Berlin 1875, p. 245 has: "[...] quemquam porcellam Mil. 4, 2, 68 (im vet., decurt. und Vat. des Plaut. proculem, in den Hdschr. [= Handschriften] des Prisc. 5, 3, 13 S. 645 proculenam und porculaenam, porcellam ist eine Verbesserung von Reiz).", that is: "[...] quemquam porcellam in Miles gloriosus 4, 2, 68 (in the codex vetus, codex decurtatus and codex Vaticanus of Plautus proculem, in the manuscripts of Priscianus 5, 3, 13 page 645 proculenam and porculaenam, porcellam is a correction by Reiz)."

  Note 2: In some older works this sentence is cited with the feminine accusative quamquam from which a nominative *quaequam is derived. Some younger works do mention the feminine *quaequam too, but without giving a citation or reference.

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

References

• “quisquam”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “quisquam”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• quisquam in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
• quisquam in Ramminger, Johann (2016 July 16 (last accessed)) Neulateinische Wortliste: Ein Wörterbuch des Lateinischen von Petrarca bis 1700‎^[1], pre-publication website, 2005-2016