English
quip
Quip may come from Latin quippe ‘indeed’.
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEquippe‘indeed’uncertain
- Englishearliest quotation 1596quip
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEquippe‘indeed’uncertain
- Englishearliest quotation 1596quip
Earliest quotation: 1596, Edmund Spenser, Book VI, Canto VII: “the more he laughs, and does her closely quip”.
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *kʷ- ‘the primary interrogative root’
who, which, whether, whose, whom, neutral, quantity, whence, ubiquitous, rapunzel, whither, ubiquity, cadenza, 12 more
through Proto-Indo-European *kʷís ‘who, what’
what, when, how, where, why, ut, 5 more
through Latin quid ‘what’
Today it means
noun A smart, sarcastic turn or jest; a taunt; a severe retort or comeback; a gibe.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Latin quippe / quip