The word “coffee” entered the English language in 1582 via the Dutch “koffie,” borrowed from the Ottoman Turkish “kahve,” borrowed in turn from the Arabic “qahwah.” The Arabic word qahwah was traditionally held to refer to a type of wine.
QUOTH
Etymology
Verb
quoth
(archaic or literary, now, defective) simple past tense of quethe; said
quoth (third-person singular simple present quoth, present participle -, simple past and past participle quoth)
(defective, modal, auxiliary) to say
Usage notes
Quoth is considered a defective verb because it is now the only recognizable form of the verb quethe, all other forms of which are obsolete. Quoth almost always comes before the subject, usually in the form "quoth he/she." It also often comes after the object, which is whatever is being said by the subject, written between quotation marks. It can also be inserted in the middle of an object phrase, where "quoth [subject]" is separated from the rest of the sentence by commas.
Source: Wiktionary
Quoth, v. t. Etym: [AS.cweedhan, imp cwæedh, pl. cwædon; akin to OS. queedhan, OHG. quethan, quedan, Icel. kveedha, Goth. qiþan. sq. root22. Cf. Bequeath.]
Definition: Said; spoke; uttered; -- used only in the first and third persons in the past tenses, and always followed by its nominative, the word or words said being the object; as, quoth I. quoth he. "Let me not live, quoth he." Shak.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
Recent Word Finds
Word of the Day
26 February 2025
ACRIMONIOUS
(adjective) marked by strong resentment or cynicism; “an acrimonious dispute”; “bitter about the divorce”
Coffee Trivia
