Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “quarry” come from?

Quarry comes from Medieval Latin quarreria, from Old French cuiriee and coree, from Latin quadrus, cor, and caput, ultimately meaning head.

quarry (English): A site for mining stone, limestone, or slate; To...

Definitions

  1. A site for mining stone, limestone, or slate; To...

Ancestry of “quarry”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishquarere—
2Medieval Latinquarreria—
3Old Frenchquarrière—
4Vulgar Latinquadraria—
5Latinquadrō—
6Latinquādrus—
7Latinquattŭor—
8Portuguesequartoordinal form of quatro; fourth; quarter; fourth;...
9Old Portuguesequartoquarter
10Latinquārtus—
11Proto-Indo-Europeankʷeturtos—
12Proto-Indo-Europeankʷetwóresfour
13Proto-Indo-Europeankʷe-and

Words derived from “quarry”

  • quarryman
  • quarrier
  • quarriable
  • quarrylike
Every word from Proto-Indo-European kʷe- →