What is "quarter"

Quarter \Quar"ter\, v. i. [F. cartayer.] To drive a carriage so as to prevent the wheels from going into the ruts, or so that a rut shall be between the wheels.

Every creature that met us would rely on us for quartering.
--De Quincey.

Quarter \Quar"ter\ (kw[aum]r"t[~e]r), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Quartered; p. pr. & vb. n. Quartering.]

1. To divide into four equal parts.

2. To divide; to separate into parts or regions.

   Then sailors quartered heaven.
   --Dryden.

3. To furnish with shelter or entertainment; to supply with the means of living for a time; especially, to furnish shelter to; as, to quarter soldiers.

   They mean this night in Sardis to be quartered.
   --Shak.

4. To furnish as a portion; to allot. [R.]

   This isle . . . He quarters to his blue-haired deities. -- Milton.

5. (Her.) To arrange (different coats of arms) upon one escutcheon, as when a man inherits from both father and mother the right to bear arms.

   Note: When only two coats of arms are so combined they are arranged in four compartments. See Quarter, n., 1 (f) .

Quarter \Quar"ter\ (kw[aum]r"t[~e]r), v. i. To lodge; to have a temporary residence.

Quarter \Quar"ter\ (kw[aum]r"t[~e]r), n. [F. quartier, L. quartarius a fourth part, fr. quartus the fourth. See Quart.]

1. One of four equal parts into which anything is divided, or is regarded as divided; a fourth part or portion; as, a quarter of a dollar, of a pound, of a yard, of an hour, etc. Hence, specifically:

   1. The fourth of a hundred-weight, being 25 or 28 pounds, according as the hundredweight is reckoned at 100 or 112 pounds.

   2. The fourth of a ton in weight, or eight bushels of grain; as, a quarter of wheat; also, the fourth part of a chaldron of coal.
      --Hutton.

   3. (Astron.) The fourth part of the moon's period, or monthly revolution; as, the first quarter after the change or full.

   4. One limb of a quadruped with the adjacent parts; one fourth part of the carcass of a slaughtered animal, including a leg; as, the fore quarters; the hind quarters.

   5. That part of a boot or shoe which forms the side, from the heel to the vamp.

   6. (Far.) That part on either side of a horse's hoof between the toe and heel, being the side of the coffin.

   7. A term of study in a seminary, college, etc, etc.; properly, a fourth part of the year, but often longer or shorter.

   8. pl. (Mil.) The encampment on one of the principal passages round a place besieged, to prevent relief and intercept convoys.

   9. (Naut.) The after-part of a vessel's side, generally corresponding in extent with the quarter-deck; also, the part of the yardarm outside of the slings.

   10. (Her.) One of the divisions of an escutcheon when it is divided into four portions by a horizontal and a perpendicular line meeting in the fess point.

       Note: When two coats of arms are united upon one escutcheon, as in case of marriage, the first and fourth quarters display one shield, the second and third the other. See Quarter, v. t., 5.

   11. One of the four parts into which the horizon is regarded as divided; a cardinal point; a direction' principal division; a region; a territory.

       Scouts each coast light-armed scour, Each quarter, to descry the distant foe.
       --Milton.

   12. A division of a town, city, or county; a particular district; a locality; as, the Latin quarter in Paris.

   13. (Arch.) A small upright timber post, used in partitions; -- in the United States more commonly called stud.

   14. (Naut.) The fourth part of the distance from one point of the compass to another, being the fourth part of 11[deg] 15', that is, about 2[deg] 49'; -- called also quarter point.

2. Proper station; specific place; assigned position; special location. Swift to their several quarters hasted then The cumbrous elements. --Milton. [1913 Webster] Hence, specifically:

   1. (Naut.) A station at which officers and men are posted in battle; -- usually in the plural.

   2. Place of lodging or temporary residence; shelter; entertainment; -- usually in the plural.

      The banter turned as to what quarters each would find.
      --W. Irving.

   3. pl. (Mil.) A station or encampment occupied by troops; a place of lodging for soldiers or officers; as, winter quarters.

   4. Treatment shown by an enemy; mercy; especially, the act of sparing the life a conquered enemy; a refraining from pushing one's advantage to extremes.

      He magnified his own clemency, now they were at his mercy, to offer them quarter for their lives.
      --Clarendon.

      Cocks and lambs . . . at the mercy of cats and wolves . . . must never expect better quarter.
      --L'Estrange.

3. Friendship; amity; concord. [Obs.] To keep quarter, to keep one's proper place, and so be on good terms with another. [Obs.]

   In quarter, and in terms like bride and groom.
   --Shak.

   I knew two that were competitors for the secretary's place, . . . and yet kept good quarter between themselves.
   --Bacon.

   False quarter, a cleft in the quarter of a horse's foot.

   Fifth quarter, the hide and fat; -- a butcher's term.

   On the quarter (Naut.), in a direction between abeam and astern; opposite, or nearly opposite, a vessel's quarter.

   Quarter aspect. (Astrol.) Same as Quadrate.

   Quarter back (Football), the player who has position next behind center rush, and receives the ball on the snap back.

   Quarter badge (Naut.), an ornament on the side of a vessel near, the stern.
   --Mar. Dict.

   Quarter bill (Naut.), a list specifying the different stations to be taken by the officers and crew in time of action, and the names of the men assigned to each.

   Quarter block (Naut.), a block fitted under the quarters of a yard on each side of the slings, through which the clew lines and sheets are reeved.
   --R. H. Dana, Jr.

   Quarter boat (Naut.), a boat hung at a vessel's quarter.

   Quarter cloths (Naut.), long pieces of painted canvas, used to cover the quarter netting.

   Quarter day, a day regarded as terminating a quarter of the year; hence, one on which any payment, especially rent, becomes due. In matters influenced by United States statutes, quarter days are the first days of January, April, July, and October. In New York and many other places, as between landlord and tenant, they are the first days of May, August, November, and February. The quarter days usually recognized in England are 25th of March (Lady Day), the 24th of June (Midsummer Day), the 29th of September (Michaelmas Day), and the 25th of December (Christmas Day).

   Quarter face, in fine arts, portrait painting, etc., a face turned away so that but one quarter is visible.

   Quarter gallery (Naut.), a balcony on the quarter of a ship. See Gallery,

4. Quarter gunner (Naut.), a petty officer who assists the gunner.

   Quarter look, a side glance. [Obs.]
   --B. Jonson.

   Quarter nettings (Naut.), hammock nettings along the quarter rails.

   Quarter note (Mus.), a note equal in duration to half a minim or a fourth of semibreve; a crochet.

   Quarter pieces (Naut.), several pieces of timber at the after-part of the quarter gallery, near the taffrail.
   --Totten.

   Quarter point. (Naut.) See Quarter, n., 1 (n) .

   Quarter railing, or Quarter rails (Naut.), narrow molded planks reaching from the top of the stern to the gangway, serving as a fence to the quarter-deck.

   Quarter sessions (Eng. Law), a general court of criminal jurisdiction held quarterly by the justices of peace in counties and by the recorders in boroughs.

   Quarter square (Math.), the fourth part of the square of a number. Tables of quarter squares have been devised to save labor in multiplying numbers.

   Quarter turn, Quarter turn belt (Mach.), an arrangement in which a belt transmits motion between two shafts which are at right angles with each other.

   Quarter watch (Naut.), a subdivision of the full watch (one fourth of the crew) on a man-of- war.

   To give quarter, or To show quarter (Mil.), to accept as prisoner, on submission in battle; to forbear to kill, as a vanquished enemy.

   To keep quarter. See Quarter, n., 3.

c.1300, "one-fourth of anything; one of four parts or divisions of a thing;" often in reference to the four parts into which a slaughtered animal is cut, from Old French quartier, cartier (12c.), from Latin quartarius "fourth part," from quartus "fourth" (see quart). One of the earliest dated references in English is to "parts of the body as dismembered during execution" (c.1300).\n

\nUsed of the phases of the moon from early 15c. The use of quarter of an hour is attested from mid-15c. In Middle English quarter also meant "one of the four divisions of a 12-hour night" (late 14c.), and the quarter of the night meant "nine o'clock p.m." (early 14c.).\n

\nFrom late 14c. as "one of the four quadrants of the heavens;" hence, from the notion of the winds, "a side, a direction" (c.1400). In heraldry from mid-14c. as "one of the four divisions of a shield or coat of arms." The word's connection with "four" loosened in Middle English and by 15c. expressions such as six-quartered for "six-sided" are found. Meaning "region, locality, area, place" is from c.1400. Meaning "portion of a town" (identified by the class or race of people who live there) is first attested 1520s. For military sense, see quarters. As a period of time in a football game, from 1911. Quarter horse, bred strong for racing on quarter-mile tracks, first recorded 1834.\n

\nThe coin (one fourth of a dollar) is peculiar to U.S., first recorded 1783. But quarter could mean "a farthing" in Middle English (late 14c.), and compare British quadrant "a farthing" (c.1600), and classical Latin quadrans, the name of a coin worth a quarter of an as (the basic unit of Roman currency).\n

\nQuarter days (mid-15c.), designated as days when rents were paid and contracts and leases began or expired, were, in England, Lady day (March 25), Midsummer day (June 24), Michaelmas day (Sept. 29), and Christmas day (Dec. 25); in Scotland, keeping closer to the pagan Celtic calendar, they were Candlemas (Feb. 2), Whitsunday (May 15), Lammas (Aug. 1), and Martinmas (Nov. 11). Quarter in the sense "period of three months; one of the four divisions of a year" is recorded from late 14c.

"to cut in quarters, divide into four parts," mid-14c., from quarter (n.). Specifically as the word for a form of criminal punishment from late 14c. (Old English had slitcwealm "death by rending"). Related: Quartered; quartering. The meaning "to put up soldiers" is recorded from 1590s (see quarters).

Etymology 1

1. 1 Pertaining to an aspect of a #Noun. 2 (context chiefly English) Consisting of a fourth part, a quarter (1/4, 25%). 3 (context chiefly English) Related to a three-month term, a quarter of a year. n. 1 Any fourth of something, particularly: 2 # A quarter-dollar, divided into 25 cents; the coin of that value minted in the United States or Canada. 3 # (context Now primarily financial) A quarter of the year, 3 months; a season. 4 # (context: historical) The quarter-ton or tun, divided into 8 bushels, the medieval English unit of volume and weight named by the Magna Carta as the basis for measures of wine, ale, and grain 5 # (context: historical) The quarter-yard, divided into 4 nails, an obsolete English unit of length long used in the cloth trade 6 # (context historical English) The watch: A quarter of the night, nominally 3 hours but varying over the year. 7 # (context heraldiccharge English) A charge occupying a fourth of a coat of arms, larger than a canton and normally on the upper dexter side, formed by a perpendicular line from the top meeting a horizontal line from the side. 8 Any substantial fraction of something less than half, particularly: 9 # A division or section of a town or other area, whether or not it constituted a fourth of the whole. 10 # (context usually plural) A living place, from which: 11 ## (context military slang now rare English) A quartermaster; a quartermaster sergeant. 12 ##* '''1925''', (w: Ford Madox Ford), ''No More Parades'', Penguin 2012 (''Parade's End''), p. 360: 13 ##*: Tietjens said: ‘Send the Canadian sergeant-major to me at the double….’ to the '''quarter'''. 14 ## (context uncountable obsolete except in phrase no quarter English) amity, friendship, concord; (''now'') accommodation given to a defeated opponent, mercy. 15 ##* Shakespeare 16 ##*: In '''quarter''', and in terms like bride and groom. 17 ##* Francis Bacon 18 ##*: I knew two that were competitors for the secretary's place, (...) and yet kept good '''quarter''' between themselves. 19 ##* '''1955''', J.R.R. Tolkien, ''The Return of the King'', HarperCollinsPublishers (2007), p. 1110. 20 ##*: Hard fighting and long labour they had still; for the Southrons were bold men and grim, and fierce in despair, and the Easterlings were strong and war-hardened and asked for '''no quarter'''. 21 # The part on either side of a horse's hoof between the toe and heel, the side of its coffin. 22 # (context nautical English) The aftmost part of a vessel side, roughly from the last mast to the stern. v

2. 1 (context transitive English) To divide into quarters. 2 (context transitive English) To provide housing for military personnel or other equipment. 3 (context intransitive English) To lodge; to have a temporary residence. 4 (context transitive English) To quartersaw. Etymology 2

   vb. (context obsolete English) To drive a carriage so as to prevent the wheels from going into the ruts, or so that a rut shall be between the wheels.

1. v. provide housing for (military personnel) [syn: billet, canton]

2. pull (a person) apart with four horses tied to his extremities, so as to execute him; "in the old days, people were drawn and quartered for certain crimes" [syn: draw, draw and quarter]

3. divide into quarters; "quarter an apple"

4. divide by four; divide into quarters

1. n. one of four equal parts; "a quarter of a pound" [syn: one-fourth, fourth, fourth part, twenty-five percent, quartern]

2. a district of a city having some distinguishing character; "the Latin Quarter"

3. one of four periods of play into which some games are divided; "both teams scored in the first quarter"

4. a unit of time equal to 15 minutes or a quarter of an hour; "it's a quarter til 4"; "a quarter after 4 o'clock"

5. one of four periods into which the school year is divided; "the fall quarter ends at Christmas"

6. a fourth part of a year; three months; "unemployment fell during the last quarter"

7. one of the four major division of the compass; "the wind is coming from that quarter"

8. a quarter of a hundredweight (25 pounds)

9. a quarter of a hundredweight (28 pounds)

10. a United States coin worth one fourth of a dollar; "he fed four quarters into the slot machine"

11. an unspecified person; "he dropped a word in the right quarter"

12. the rear part of a ship [syn: stern, after part, poop, tail]

13. piece of leather that comprises the part of a shoe or boot covering the heel and joining the vamp

The quarter, short for quarter dollar, is a United States coin worth 25 cents, one-fourth of a dollar. It has a diameter of .955 inches (24.26 mm) and a thickness of .069 inches (1.75 mm). The coin sports the profile of George Washington on its obverse and its reverse design has changed frequently. It has been produced on and off since 1796, and consistently from 1831 onward.

The choice of as a denomination—as opposed to the more common elsewhere—originated with the practice of dividing Spanish milled dollars into eight wedge-shaped segments. At one time " two bits" (that is, two " pieces of eight") was a common nickname for a quarter. The quarter is worth $0.25.

A quarter is one-fourth, , 25% or 0.25 and may refer to:

• Quarter (urban subdivision), a section or area, usually of a town
• Quarter section, an area of one-fourth of a square mile, or
• Quarter (United States coin), valued at one-fourth of a U.S. dollar
• Quarter (Canadian coin), valued at one-fourth of a Canadian dollar
• Quarter of a calendar year
• Academic quarter (year division), a division of an academic year lasting from 8 to 12 weeks
• Academic quarter (class timing), term used by universities in various European countries for the 15 minutes between the defined start time for a lecture and the actual time it will start
• Fiscal quarter, one fourth (three months) of a fiscal year
• Quarter (unit), various obsolete customary units of measurement
• Quartier (unit), an obsolete French units of measurement

A quarter is a section of an urban settlement.

Its borders can be administratively chosen (then denoted as borough), and it may have its own administrative structure (subordinate to that of the city, town or other urban area). Such a division is particularly common in countries like Poland ( dzielnica), Serbia (четврт, četvrt), Croatia (četvrt), Georgia (კვარტალი), Germany (Stadtteil), Italy ( Quartiere), France (Quartier), Romania ("Cartier") and Cambodia (Sangkat).

Quarter can also refer to a non-administrative but distinct neighbourhood with its own character: for example, a slum quarter. It is often used for a district connected with a particular group of people: for instance, some cities are said to have Jewish quarters, diplomatic quarters or Bohemian quarters.

Most Roman cities were divided to four parts, called Quarters, by their two main avenues: the Cardo and the Decumanus Maximus.

The Old City of Jerusalem currently has four quarters: the Muslim Quarter, Christian Quarter, Jewish Quarter and Armenian Quarter (it used to have a Moroccan Quarter). A Christian quarter also exists in Damascus.

The quarter ( "one-fourth") is used as the name of several distinct English units based on ¼ sizes of some base unit.

The "quarter of London" mentioned by the Magna Carta as the national standard measure for wine, ale, and grain was ¼ ton or tun. It continued to be used, e.g., to regulate the prices of bread. This quarter was a unit of 8 bushels of 8 gallons each, understood at the time as a measure of both weight and volume: the grain gallon or half- peck was composed of 76,800 ( Tower) grains weight; the ale gallon was composed of the ale filling an equivalent container; and the wine gallon was composed of the wine weighing an equivalent amount to a full gallon of grain.