quam
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Latin
[edit]Pronunciation
[edit]- (Classical Latin) IPA(key): /kʷam/, [kʷä̃ˑ]
- (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA(key): /kwam/, [kwäm]
Etymology 1
[edit]From Proto-Italic *kʷis, *kʷoi, from Proto-Indo-European *kʷeh₂m, accusative of *kʷeh₂, feminine of *kʷos, *kʷis. Compare its masculine form cum (as in tum-tam).
According to L. R. Palmer, "In such a sentence as hic tam beatus est, quam ille the sense of tam beatus could equally be rendered by non beatior. It was presumably by the substitution of equivalent expressions ('contamination'), possibly first in negative expressions, that the illogical quam 'as' came to be used after comparatives."[1]
Alternative forms
[edit]Adverb
[edit]quam
- (before superlative adjectives and adverbs) in what (which) way, to what (which) degree; how, how much, as much as, as far as
- quam potuit ― in what way/to what degree/how/how much/as much as/as far as he could
- quam primum ― as quickly as possible
- quam celerrime ― as quickly as possible
- quam maxime ― as far as possible
- quam serissime ― as late as possible
- quam saepissime ― much often
- Quam rogas! ― How much you ask!
- c. 52 BCE, Julius Caesar, Commentarii de Bello Gallico VII.8:
- Equitibus imperat, ut quam latissime possint vagentur et quam maximum hostibus terrorem inferant
- He orders the cavalry to extend themselves as far as they could, and strike as great a panic as possible into the enemy
- Equitibus imperat, ut quam latissime possint vagentur et quam maximum hostibus terrorem inferant
- c. 52 BCE, Julius Caesar, Commentarii de Bello Gallico VII.9:
- ut in omnes partes equites quam latissime pervagentur
- that the cavalry should range as extensively as possible in all directions
- ut in omnes partes equites quam latissime pervagentur
- c. 52 BCE, Julius Caesar, Commentarii de Bello Gallico VII.9:
- quam maximis potest itineribus
- by as long journeys as he can
- quam maximis potest itineribus
- c. 52 BCE, Julius Caesar, Commentarii de Bello Gallico VII.11:
- Ipse, ut quam primum iter faceret
- He himself, with the intention of marching as soon as possible
- Ipse, ut quam primum iter faceret
- (in comparisons) as
- Tam similis est, quam potest.
- It is as similar as it can be.
- (after comparative adjectives and adverbs) than
- alius quam ― different than
- ante quam (+ subjunctive or infinitive) ― sooner than
- aliter quam voles ― in a different way than you want
- Hic maior est, quam ille.
- This is bigger than that.
- 68 BCE – 44 BCE, Cicero, Epistulae ad Atticum 4.4A:
- offendēs dissignātiōnem Tyranniōnis mīrificam librōrum meōrum, quōrum reliquiae multō meliōrēs sunt quam putāram
- You will encounter Tyrannio's wonderful arrangement of my books, the remains of which are much better than I had thought.
- offendēs dissignātiōnem Tyranniōnis mīrificam librōrum meōrum, quōrum reliquiae multō meliōrēs sunt quam putāram
- c. 52 BCE, Julius Caesar, Commentarii de Bello Gallico VII.9:
- Priusque omnes in unum locum cogit quam de eius adventu Arvernis nuntiari posset
- and gathers all legions into one place sooner than (before) the intelligence of his arrival could be announced to the Arverni
- Priusque omnes in unum locum cogit quam de eius adventu Arvernis nuntiari posset
- c. 52 BCE, Julius Caesar, Commentarii de Bello Gallico VII.10:
- Praestare visum est tamen omnis difficultates perpeti quam tanta contumelia accepta
- However it seemed better to sustain any hardship than to accept such an insult
- Praestare visum est tamen omnis difficultates perpeti quam tanta contumelia accepta
- 405 CE, Jerome, Vulgate Tobias 2:9:
- sed Tobias plus timens Deum quam regem rapiebat corpora occisorum et occultabat in domo sua et mediis noctibus sepeliebat ea
- But Tobias fearing God more than the king, carried off the bodies of them that were slain, and hid them in his house, and at midnight buried them.
- sed Tobias plus timens Deum quam regem rapiebat corpora occisorum et occultabat in domo sua et mediis noctibus sepeliebat ea
- (rare) rather than
Coordinate terms
[edit]Derived terms
[edit]Related terms
[edit]Descendants
[edit]- French: que (“than, as”)
- Old Galician-Portuguese: quan; ca
- Romanian: ca (“than, as”)
- Romansch: ca (“than”)
- Spanish: cuan (“how”)
References
[edit]- “quam”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
- “quam”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
- quam in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)
- quam in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette, pages 1,290–1,291.
- Carl Meißner, Henry William Auden (1894) Latin Phrase-Book[1], London: Macmillan and Co.
- (ambiguous) I cannot wait till..: nihil mihi longius est or videtur quam dum or quam ut
- (ambiguous) nothing is more tiresome to me than..: nihil mihi longius est quam (c. Inf.)
- (ambiguous) it is more than twenty years ago: amplius sunt (quam) viginti anni or viginti annis
- (ambiguous) Plato's ideal republic: illa civitas, quam Plato finxit
- (ambiguous) this is more plausible than true: haec speciosiora quam veriora sunt
- (ambiguous) I have exhausted all my material: copiam quam potui persecutus sum
- (ambiguous) there is nothing I am more interested in than..: nihil antiquius or prius habeo quam ut (nihil mihi antiquius or potius est, quam ut)
- (ambiguous) by the longest possible forced marches: quam maximis itineribus (potest)
- (ambiguous) I cannot wait till..: nihil mihi longius est or videtur quam dum or quam ut
- Dizionario Latino, Olivetti
- quam in Ramminger, Johann (2024 August 26 (last accessed)) Neulateinische Wortliste: Ein Wörterbuch des Lateinischen von Petrarca bis 1700[2], pre-publication website, 2005-2016
- “quam” on pages 1,537–1,538 of the Oxford Latin Dictionary (1st ed., 1968–82)
- ^ Palmer, L.R. (1906) The Latin Language, London, Faber and Faber, p. 337
Etymology 2
[edit]See quī (relative pronoun and interrogative adjective).
Pronoun
[edit]quam
Adjective
[edit]quam
Etymology 3
[edit]See quis (pronoun).
Pronoun
[edit]quam
Middle Dutch
[edit]Verb
[edit]quam
Middle English
[edit]Pronoun
[edit]quam
- (Northern) Alternative form of whom (“who, whom”, accusative)
Categories:
- Latin 1-syllable words
- Latin terms with IPA pronunciation
- Latin terms inherited from Proto-Italic
- Latin terms derived from Proto-Italic
- Latin terms inherited from Proto-Indo-European
- Latin terms derived from Proto-Indo-European
- Latin lemmas
- Latin adverbs
- Latin terms with usage examples
- Latin terms with quotations
- Latin terms with rare senses
- Latin words in Meissner and Auden's phrasebook
- Latin non-lemma forms
- Latin pronoun forms
- Latin adjective forms
- Latin interrogative adverbs
- Middle Dutch non-lemma forms
- Middle Dutch verb forms
- Middle English lemmas
- Middle English pronouns
- Northern Middle English