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JadziaDax · 09-17-2003, 01:28 AM

The Word of the Day for September 17 is:

quietus • \kwye-EE-tus\ • (noun) 1. final settlement (as of a debt); 2. removal from activity; especially death; 3. something that quiets or represses

A little more information about today’s word:
In the early 1500s, English speakers adopted the Medieval Latin phrase "quietus est" (literally "he is quit") as the name for the writ of discharge exempting a baron or knight from payment of a knight's fee to the king. The expression was later shortened to "quietus" and applied to the termination of any debt. William Shakespeare was the first to use "quietus" as a metaphor for the termination of life: "For who would bear the whips and scorns of time, . . . When he himself might his quietus make / With a bare bodkin?" (Hamlet). The third meaning, which is more influenced by "quiet" than "quit," appeared in the 19th century. It sometimes occurs in the phrase "put the quietus on" (as in, "The bad news put the quietus on their celebration").

My sentence (using definition #2):
"This book is also about the death of Lavrenti Pavlovich Beria, a quietus that for reasons not satisfactorily explained has been placed a year later than it actually occurred."
-- Ruth Rendell, The New York Times Book Review, April 6, 1986

Based on Merriam-Webster's Collegiate® Dictionary, 10th Edition.

Next sentence?

09-17-2003, 01:28 AM	#75 (permalink)
JadziaDax Loser Location: who the fuck cares?	Word of the day September 17 The Word of the Day for September 17 is: quietus • \kwye-EE-tus\ • (noun) 1. final settlement (as of a debt); 2. removal from activity; especially death; 3. something that quiets or represses A little more information about today’s word: In the early 1500s, English speakers adopted the Medieval Latin phrase "quietus est" (literally "he is quit") as the name for the writ of discharge exempting a baron or knight from payment of a knight's fee to the king. The expression was later shortened to "quietus" and applied to the termination of any debt. William Shakespeare was the first to use "quietus" as a metaphor for the termination of life: "For who would bear the whips and scorns of time, . . . When he himself might his quietus make / With a bare bodkin?" (Hamlet). The third meaning, which is more influenced by "quiet" than "quit," appeared in the 19th century. It sometimes occurs in the phrase "put the quietus on" (as in, "The bad news put the quietus on their celebration"). My sentence (using definition #2): "This book is also about the death of Lavrenti Pavlovich Beria, a quietus that for reasons not satisfactorily explained has been placed a year later than it actually occurred." -- Ruth Rendell, The New York Times Book Review, April 6, 1986 Based on Merriam-Webster's Collegiate® Dictionary, 10th Edition. Next sentence?