Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “quote” come from?

Quote comes from Middle English quoten, from Old French coter, from Medieval Latin quotare, from Latin quotus meaning "how many," derived from quot meaning "how many," ultimately from Proto-Indo-European kʷos.

quote (English): A quotation; a statement attributed to a person;...

Definitions

  1. A quotation; a statement attributed to a person;...

Ancestry of “quote”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishquoten—
2Old Frenchcoter—
3Medieval Latinquotareto distinguish by numbers, number chapters
4Latinquothow many; as many
5Proto-Italic*kʷot—

Words derived from “quote”

  • cote
  • quotable
  • dovecote
  • dovecot
  • misquote
  • unquote
  • quoter
  • unquotable
  • sheepcote
  • requote
  • quotability
  • backquote
  • Quotron
  • quotably
  • disquote
  • quoteworthy
  • misquoter
  • quotest
  • underquote
  • quotebook
  • outquote
  • overquote
  • quotableness
  • unquotably
Every word from Proto-Italic *kʷot →