Where does “quarterback” come from?
Quarterback derives from English back and French quartier, which comes from French quart, rooted in Latin -arius and Latin bassus.
quarterback (English): An offensive back whose primary job is to pass...
Definitions
- An offensive back whose primary job is to pass...
Ancestry of “quarterback”, step by step
quarterback traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English back
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | back | Near the rear; Not current; Far from the main... |
| 2 | French | bac | ferry; vat; high school exit exam in France; A... |
| 3 | French | baccalauréat | baccalaureat; bachelor's degree |
| 4 | Medieval Latin | baccalaureatus | bachelor's degree |
| 5 | Latin | baccalaureus | bachelor |
| 6 | Latin | laurea | laurel, bay tree; crown, wreath or branch of... |
| 7 | Latin | laurus | laurel tree; laurels; a crown of laurel |
| 8 | English | -aceous | Of, relating to, resembling or containing the... |
| 9 | Latin | -āceus | aceous; resembling, having the nature of, forming, belonging to |
| 10 | Latin | -āx | ish, -y |
| 11 | Latin | -ium | Suffix used to form abstract nouns, sometimes... |
| 12 | Latin | -ius | forming adjectives from nouns; nominative neuter... |
| 13 | Proto-Italic | -jōs | Forms comparative adjectives |
| 14 | Proto-Indo-European | -yós | Creates adjectives from noun or verb stems |
via English quarter
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | quarter | "A fourth part of something."; "Place or... |
| 2 | Middle English | quarter | A quarter fourth part of something |
| 3 | Anglo-Norman | quarter | — |
| 4 | Latin | quartarius | quartarius, a Roman unit of liquid measure equivalent to about 0.14 L |
| 5 | Latin | quārtus | fourth |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | kʷeturtos | — |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | kʷetwóres | four |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | kʷe- | and |