Where does “quire” come from?
Quire comes from Middle English quayer, from Old French quaer, from Vulgar Latin quaternus meaning a set of four, ultimately derived from Proto-Indo-European kauput-.
quire (English): One-twentieth of a ream of paper; a collection of...
Definitions
- One-twentieth of a ream of paper; a collection of...
Ancestry of “quire”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Middle English | quer | — |
| 2 | Old French | cuer | heart |
| 3 | Vulgar Latin | *corem | — |
| 4 | Latin | cor | heart; soul, mind |
| 5 | Proto-Italic | kord | heart |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱḗr | heart |
Words derived from “quire”