quietus

Definition

A stillness or pause; something that quiets or represses; removal from activity.

Etymology

Short for Medieval Latin quiētus est (literally “he is quiet”). First attested in the 1530s. Earlier attested as Late Middle English quietus est. Doublet of coy, quiet, quit, and quite.

Example Sentences

• "Olive's specific terrors and dangers had by this time very much blown over; Basil Ransom had given no sign of life for ages, and Henry Burrage had certainly got his quietus before they went to Europe."
• "When he himſelfe might his Quietus make / With a bare Bodkin?"
• "After a good deal of firing, and lying in wait - for every time he heard a shot down he'd go, and on coming to the surface, would only expose about two or three inches of his nose to fire at - we managed to give him his quietus."

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