Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “quarters” come from?

Quarters comes from French quartier, derived from French quart meaning "fourth," which traces to Latin quattuor meaning "four" with the agent suffix -arius.

quarters (English): plural of quarter; Housing, barracks or other...

Definitions

  1. plural of quarter; Housing, barracks or other...

Ancestry of “quarters”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Englishquarter"A fourth part of something."; "Place or...
2Middle Englishquarter—
3Anglo-Normanquarter—
4Latinquartarius—
5Latinquārtus—
6Proto-Indo-Europeankʷeturtos—
7Proto-Indo-Europeankʷetwóresfour
8Proto-Indo-Europeankʷe-and

Words derived from “quarters”

  • headquarters
  • outquarters
Every word from Proto-Indo-European kʷe- →