Q-Word Vocabulary Definitions
| Q-fever. | caused by a rickettsia |
| qoph. | Hebrew letter |
| qua. | in the capacity or character of, "The President, qua head of his party, .." |
| quad. | quadrat (see below) |
| quadrant. | quarter of a circle; navigation instrument |
| quadrat. | piece of type metal lower than the raised type faces used as a space |
| quadrate. | a square or cube; skull bone joining upper and lower jaws in birds, fishes, reptiles, and amphibians |
| quadrature. | squaring up; constructing a square with same area as given surface; angular separation of two celestial bodies is 90º, as seen from a third body. |
| quadrifid. | four-part (as with a leaf) |
| quadriga. | two-wheeled chariot drawn by four horses |
| quadrille. | French square dance; music for same |
| quadrille. | 40-card card game |
| quadrivium. | geometry, astronomy, arithmetic, and music |
| quadrumanous. | four feet, with opposable first digit (primates other than man) |
| quaestor. | Roman finance and administration |
| quagga. | extinct zebra-like African animal |
| quahog. | edible clam |
| quai. | quay |
| quaich. | two-fisted Scottish drinking cup |
| Quaker ladies. | bluets |
| quale. | a property such as whiteness, considered independently from things having the property |
| quamash. | camas |
| quantasome. | granules on inner lamellar surface of chloroplast |
| quartan. | every fourth day |
| quarter day. | 1st day of new season |
| quartern. | 1/4th of something |
| quarter-phase. | two-phase |
| quarter sessions. | British local court that sits quarterly; U. S. local court that sits quarterly |
| quarto. | page size gotten by folding page into quarters |
| quash. | to set aside or annul (legal) |
| quassia. | tree; bitter medicine, insecticide |
| quaternion. | four persons or items |
| quattrecento. | 15th C. Renaissance Italian period |
| quean. | disreputable woman, demimondine, cocotte; young woman |
| quebracho. | hardwood S.A. tree |
| quechua. | ruling class of Incan nation |
| queencup. | plant |
| queen-of-the-prairie. | plant |
| queen post. | uprights on either side of the apex of a roof |
| queen regnant.. | queen reigning in her own right (Elizabeth I, Victoria) |
| Queen's Bench. | hears criminal and civil cases (when Queen is female) |
| Queen's counsel. | a barrister appointed to serve female queen |
| Queen truss. | has queen posts |
| quanelle. | ball or dumpling of forcemeat (finely ground meat, fish, or poultry used in stuffing) bound with eggs and poached in stock or water. |
| quersitin. | used to treat capillary fragility |
| quercitron. | black oak; yellow dye |
| querist. | one who queries |
| quern. | primitive, hand-cranked mill |
| Quiche. | Guatemalans |
| quiche Lorraine. | cheese and bacon |
| quick time. | 120 steps per minute |
| quid. | a pound sterling |
| quiddity. | the real nature of things |
| quidnunc. | a busybody |
| quietism. | Christian mysticism: passive contemplation and annihilation of will |
| quiff. | tuft of hair |
| quillback. | fish |
| quincunx. | arrangement with one at each corner of a rectangle and one at the center |
| quidecennial. | every 15 years |
| quinella. | must pick first two winners of a race but not necessarily in order |
| quinnat salmon. | Chinook salmon |
| quinquagenarian. | in fifties |
| quinquagesima. | Shrove Sunday, 50 days before Easter |
| quinquennial. | every five years |
| quinsy. | tonsillitis |
| quint. | 5 card sequence in same suit in one hand |
| quintain. | post, or target on post at which infantrymen or mounted soldiers tilt |
| quintal. | 100 kgs.; a hundredweight |
| quintile. | 72º |
| quipu. | colored and knotted cords used by Incas to calculate and record numbers |
| quire. | 25 sheets, 1/20th of a ream |
| quitch grass. | couch grass |
| qui vive. | sentinel's challenge: "Long live .."; vigilant, on the alert, Argus-eyed |
| quod. | prison |
| quodlibet. | theo/philo issue presented for formal argument or debate; the disputation itself; humorous musical medley |
| quoin. | exterior angle of wall or masonry; keystone; printer's wedge; gunner's wedge |
| quotha. | surprise or sarcasm after quoting the phrase ("quoth he") |
| quotidian. | recurring daily; everyday, commonplace |