A Quarter Is a Fourth, a Coin, a District, and Mercy
A quarter is one of four equal parts. It also names a coin, a city district, and the mercy shown to a defeated enemy.
A quarter is one fourth of something. From that come a surprising number of senses: the American 25-cent coin, a district of a city, three months of a financial year, and — in *give no quarter* — the mercy of sparing a defeated enemy, from the practice of granting them quarters rather than killing them.
- One of four equal parts. *A quarter of an hour.*
- A district of a city. *The old quarter.*
- Three months. *Results for the first quarter.*
- Mercy to a defeated enemy. *No quarter was given.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | quarter | A quarter each. |
| Plural | quarters | Living quarters. |
| Verb | quarter | Quarter the apples. |
| Adjective | quarterly | A quarterly report. |
| Related | quart | A quart of milk. |
How it is used in a sentence
- Cut the potatoes into quarters.Fractions.
- Profits rose in the third quarter.Business.
- They asked for and were given no quarter.The military sense.
Quarter in different fields
- Finance — a three-month reporting period
- Currency — the American twenty-five cent coin
- Geography — a district, as in the Latin Quarter
- Military — accommodation, hence quarters
- Heraldry — one of four divisions of a shield
From Old French *quartier*, from Latin *quartarius*, a fourth part, from *quartus*, fourth. The mercy sense comes from providing quarters for prisoners.
Where does *no quarter* come from?
From the practice of granting a defeated enemy quarters, meaning lodging as a prisoner. To give no quarter was to take no prisoners.
Quarter past or quarter after?
Quarter past is British, quarter after American. Both mean fifteen minutes past the hour.