Definify.com

Webster 1913 Edition


Quid

Quid

,
Noun.
[See
Cud
.]
A portion suitable to be chewed; a cud;
as, a
quid
of tobacco
.

Quid

,
Verb.
T.
(Man.)
To drop from the mouth, as food when partially chewed; – said of horses.
Youatt.

Webster 1828 Edition


Quid

QUID

,
Noun.
A vulgar pronunciation of cud; as a quid of tobacco.

Definition 2024


quid

quid

English

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

Likely derives from the phrase quid pro quo meaning "this for that", referring to the exchange of goods/services for money.

Noun

quid (plural quid or quids)

  1. (historical) A sovereign or guinea.
    • Charles Reade
      They invited him to come to-morrow, [] and bring half a quid with him.
  2. (Britain, 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
Derived terms

Etymology 3

Variant of cud.

Noun

quid (plural quids)

  1. A piece of chewing tobacco.
    • 1901, W. W. Jacobs, chapter 1, in Light Freights, page 1:
      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
    • 1902, John Masefield, A Ballad of John Silver
      Ah! the pig-tailed, quidding pirates and the pretty pranks we played
  2. (of a horse) To let food drop from the mouth whilst chewing

See also


French

Etymology

From Latin quid.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /kwid/

Pronoun

quid

  1. (formal) what about
    Quid de la transparence du programme ?

Synonyms

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

Italian

Noun

quid m (invariable)

  1. A certain something (that is somehow undefinable)

Latin

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

Pronoun

quid

  1. inflection of quis:
    1. neuter nominative singular
    2. neuter accusative singular
    Quid dico?
    What do I say?

Derived terms

Adverb

quid

  1. why? what for?

Derived terms

Related terms

Descendants

  • Aromanian: tsi
  • Catalan: què
  • Franco-Provençal: quê, que
  • French: que, quoi
  • Friulian: ce
  • Italian: che
  • Norman: qùe (France), qùi (France), qùei (France)
  • Occitan: qué

References

  • quid in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  • quid in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
  • Félix Gaffiot (1934), “quid”, in Dictionnaire Illustré Latin-Français, Paris: Hachette.
  • Meissner, Carl; Auden, Henry William (1894) Latin Phrase-Book, London: Macmillan and Co.
    • (ambiguous) if anything should happen to me; if I die: si quid (humanitus) mihi accidat or acciderit
    • (ambiguous) what will become of him: quid illo fiet?
    • (ambiguous) what am I to do with this fellow: quid huic homini (also hoc homine) faciam?
    • (ambiguous) how came it that...: quid causae fuit cur...?
    • (ambiguous) what is the use of: quid attinet? with Infin.
    • (ambiguous) give me your opinion: dic quid sentias
    • (ambiguous) I am undecided..: incertus sum, quid consilii capiam
    • (ambiguous) what do you mean to do: quid tibi vis?
    • (ambiguous) what is the meaning of this: quid hoc sibi vult?
    • (ambiguous) what is the meaning of this: quid hoc rei est?
    • (ambiguous) to determine the nature and constitution of the subject under discussion: constituere, quid et quale sit, de quo disputetur
    • (ambiguous) what is the meaning, the original sense of this word: quid significat, sonat haec vox?
    • (ambiguous) what do we mean by 'virtue': quid est virtus?
    • (ambiguous) what sort of humour are you in: quid tibi animi est?
    • (ambiguous) what will become of me: quid (de) me fiet? (Ter. Heaut. 4. 3. 37)
    • (ambiguous) how are you: quid agis?
    • (ambiguous) what is going on? how are you getting on: quid agitur? quid fit?
    • (ambiguous) let the consuls take measures for the protection of the state: videant or dent operam consules, ne quid res publica detrimenti capiat (Catil. 1. 2. 4)
    • (ambiguous) what is your opinion: quid censes? quid tibi videtur?
    • (ambiguous) what is your opinion: quid de ea re fieri placet?
    • (ambiguous) to say the least..: ne (quid) gravius dicam
    • (ambiguous) in short; to be brief: ne multa, quid plura? sed quid opus est plura?
    • (ambiguous) no wonder: nec mirum, minime mirum (id quidem), quid mirum?

Spanish

Noun

quid m (plural quids)

  1. gist; point; crux