English
quiet
Quiet comes from Middle English quiete, from Old French quiet, from Latin quiētus ‘at rest, quiet’, past participle of quiēscō ‘to rest’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kʷyeh₁-‘rest’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEquiēs‘rest, repose’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEquiēscō‘to rest’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEquiētus‘at rest, quiet’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400quiet
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500quiete
- Englishearliest quotation 1593quiet
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kʷyeh₁-‘rest’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEquiēs‘rest, repose’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEquiēscō‘to rest’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEquiētus‘at rest, quiet’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400quiet
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500quiete
- Englishearliest quotation 1593quiet
Earliest quotation: 1593, anonymous author, The Life and Death of Iacke Straw […]: “The King & his Nobles thinke they may ſleepe…”
The story
Largely displaced native English still in the sense of "with little or no sound".
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *kʷyeh₁- ‘rest’
while, whilst, coy, tranquil, requiem, quiescent, 18 more
through Latin quiētus ‘at rest/nap, quiet, keeping quiet, quietude,…’
Today it means
adj With little or no sound; free of disturbing noise.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *kʷyeh₁- / quiet