Quote

Quote

Verb & Noun · /kwəʊt/ · to repeat words from a source; a passage repeated; a stated price

Definition

As a verb, to quote means to repeat or copy the exact words of a person or text, usually with attribution: she quoted the opening line of the novel. As a noun, a quote is the passage so repeated: he used a quote from Orwell to open the essay. In commercial use, a quote is a stated price offered for goods or services before work begins: the mechanic gave me a quote for the repair. Quote is the everyday and informal form of quotation — shorter, more conversational, and used across all registers of modern English.

Origin

From Medieval Latin quotare, to number chapters or verses in a manuscript — from Latin quot, how many. The verb arrived in English in the late 14th century meaning to cite a passage by its number. By the 16th century it had broadened to mean reproducing the actual words of the cited passage. The commercial sense — to state a price — developed by analogy: just as you cite a specific passage, you cite a specific number. The noun use of quote for a quotation, once considered informal, is now fully standard in British and American English.