Online Etymology Dictionary

quaternary (adj.): early 15c., "consisting of four parts," from Latin quaternarius "of four each," from quaterni "four each," from quater "four times," related to quattuor "four" (see four). In geological sense, attested from 1843, proposed 1829 by French geologist Jules Pierre François Stanislas Desnoyers (1800-1887) as name for "the fourth great epoch of geological time," but because it only comprises the age of man, and the other epochs are many hundred times longer, not all accepted it.
quatrain (n.): 1580s, from Middle French quatrain "four-line stanza," from Old French quatre "four," from Latin quattuor "four" (see four).
quattrocento (n.): 1875, "the fifteenth century as a period in art and architecture," from Italian, literally "four hundred," short for mille quattrocento "one thousand four hundred."
quaver (v.): "to vibrate, tremble," early 15c., probably frequentative of cwavien "to tremble, shake" (early 13c.), probably related to Low German quabbeln "tremble," possibly of imitative origin. Meaning "sing in trills or quavers" first recorded 1530s. Related: Quavered; quavering. The noun meaning "musical note" is first recorded 1560s.
quay (n.): 1690s, variant of Middle English key "wharf" (c.1400; mid-13c. in place names), from Old North French cai (Old French chai) "sand bank," from Gaulish caium (5c.), from Old Celtic *kagio- "to encompass, enclose" (cf. Welsh cae "fence, hedge," Cornish ke "hedge"), cognate with Old English haga "hedge" (see hedge). Spelling altered by influence of French quai, from the same Celtic source.
quean (n.): "young, robust woman," Old English cwene "woman," also "female serf, hussy, prostitute" (cf. portcwene "public woman"), from Proto-Germanic *kwenon (cf. Old Saxon quan, Old High German quena, Old Norse kona, Gothic qino "wife, woman"); see queen. Popular 16c.-17c. in sense "hussy." Sense of "effeminate homosexual" is recorded from 1935, especially in Australian slang.
queasy (adj.): mid-15c., coysy, possibly from Old Norse kveisa "boil," perhaps influenced by Anglo-French queisier, from Old French coisier "to wound, hurt, make uneasy," from the same Germanic root as kveisa. But history is obscure and evidences of development are wanting. Related: Queasily; queasiness.
Quebec: Canadian French province, from Micmac (Algonquian) /kepe:k/ "strait, narrows."
Quechua (n.): Indian people of Peru and surrounding regions, 1840, from Spanish, from Quechua kechua "plunderer, destroyer." Also the name of their language.
queen (n.): Old English cwen "queen, female ruler of a state, woman, wife," from Proto-Germanic *kwoeniz, ablaut variant of *kwenon (source of quean), from PIE *gwen- "woman, wife" supposedly originally "honored woman" (cf. Greek gyné "a woman, a wife;" Gaelic bean "woman;" Sanskrit janis "a woman," gná "wife of a god, a goddess;" Avestan jainish "wife;" Armenian kin "woman;" Old Church Slavonic zena, Old Prussian genna "woman;" Gothic qino "a woman, wife; qéns "a queen").

The original sense seems to have been "wife," specialized by Old English to "wife of a king." Used of chess piece from mid-15c., of playing card from 1570s. Of bees from c.1600 (until late 17c., they generally were thought to be kings; cf. "Henry V," I.ii). Meaning "male homosexual" (especially a feminine and ostentatious one) first recorded 1924; probably an alteration of quean in this sense. Queen Anne first used 1878 for "style characteristic of the time of Queen Anne of Great Britain and Ireland," who reigned 1702-14.

English is one of the very few Indo-European languages to have a word for "queen" that is not a feminine derivative of a word for "king." The others are Scandinavian: Old Norse drottning, Danish dronning, Swedish drottning "queen," in Old Norse also "mistress," but these also are held to be ultimately from male words, e.g. Old Norse drottinn "master."
Queens: New York City borough, named for Catherine of Braganza, queen of English King Charles II.
Queensberry Rules: drawn up 1867 by Sir John Sholto Douglas (1844-1900), 8th Marquis of Queensberry, to govern the sport of boxing in Great Britain.
queer (adj.): c.1500, "strange, peculiar, eccentric," from Scottish, perhaps from Low German (Brunswick dialect) queer "oblique, off-center," related to German quer "oblique, perverse, odd," from Old High German twerh "oblique," from PIE root *twerk- "to turn, twist, wind" (related to thwart). Sense of "homosexual" first recorded 1922; the noun in this sense is 1935, from the adjective. Related: Queerly; queerness.
queer (v.): "to spoil, ruin," 1812, from queer (adj.). Related: Queered; queering.
quelch (v.): 1650s, shortening of squelch, perhaps influenced by quench. Related: Quelched; quelching.
quell (v.): Old English cwellan "to kill, murder, execute," from Proto-Germanic *kwaljanan (cf. Old English cwelan "to die," cwalu "violent death;" Old Saxon quellian "to torture, kill;" Old Norse kvelja "to torment;" Middle Dutch quelen "to vex, tease, torment;" Old High German quellan "to suffer pain," German quälen "to torment, torture"), from root *kwel-/*kwal- (cf. Armenian kelem "I torture;" Old Church Slavonic zali "pain;" Lithuanian galas "end," gela "agony," gelati "to sting"). Milder sense of "suppress, extinguish" developed by c.1300. Related: Quelled; quelling.
quench (v.): Old English acwencan "to quench" (of fire, light), from Proto-Germanic *cwandjan, probably a causative form of root of Old English cwincan "to go out, be extinguished," Old Frisian kwinka. Related: Quenched; quenching.
Quentin: masc. proper name, from French, from Latin Quin(c)tianus, from quintus "the fifth." Roman children in large families often were names for their birth order (e.g. Sextius; see Octavian). "[P]opular in France from the cult of St Quentin of Amiens, and brought to England by the Normans" ["Dictionary of English Surnames"], but the popular English form as a surname was Quinton.
querent: 1590s, from Latin quaerentem, present participle of quaerere (see query (v.)).
quern (n.): Old English cweorn "hand-mill, mill," from PIE root *gwern- (cf. Old Norse kvern, Old Frisian quern, Old High German quirn, Gothic quirnus; Sanskrit grava "crushing stone;" Lithuanian girna "millstone," girnos "hand mills;" Old Church Slavonic zrunuvi "mills;" Welsh brevan "hand mill").
querulous (adj.): c.1500, from Old French querelos, from Late Latin querulosus, from Latin querulus "full of complaints, complaining," from queri "to complain." Retains the original vowel of quarrel (n.1). Related: Querulously; querulousness.
query (v.): 1530s, quaere, from Latin quaere "ask," imperative of quaerere "to seek, look for; strive, endeavor, strive to gain; ask, require, demand;" figuratively "seek mentally, seek to learn, make inquiry," probably ultimately from PIE *kwo-, root forming the stem of relative and interrogative pronouns (see who). Spelling altered c.1600 by influence of inquiry. Related: Queried; querying.
query (n.): "a question," 1630s, from query (v.).
quesadilla (n.): Mexican tortilla with filling of cheese, etc., 1944, from Spanish, diminutive of quesada, "type of cheesecake," from queso "cheese," from Latin caeseus (see cheese (n.1)).
quest (n.): c.1300, "an inquest;" early 14c., "a search for something" (especially of judicial inquiries or hounds seeking game), from Old French queste (Modern French quête), properly "the act of seeking," from Medieval Latin questa "search, inquiry," alteration of Latin quaesitus, past participle of quaerere "seek, gain, ask" (see query). Romance sense of "adventure undertaken by a knight" (especially the search for the Grail) is attested from late 14c.
quest (v.): c.1400, "to seek game, hunt," from Old French quester, from queste (see quest (n.)). Related: Quested; questing.
question (n.): c.1300, from Anglo-French questiun, Old French question "legal inquest," from Latin quaestionem (nominative quaestio) "a seeking, a questioning, inquiry, examining, investigation," noun of action from past participle stem of quaerere "ask, seek" (see query (v.)). Question mark is from 1849, sometimes also question stop (1862); figurative use is from 1869.
question (v.): late 15c., from Old French questionner (13c.), from question (see question (n.)). Related: Questioned; questioning.
questionable (adj.): c.1600, "open to dispute, doubtful," from question (v.) + -able. Depreciatory sense of "dubious in character" is attested from 1806. Related: Questionably.
questionnaire (n.): 1901, from French questionnaire "list of questions," from questionner "to question," (see question (v.)). Purists preferred native formation questionary (1540s).
quetzal (n.): 1827, from Spanish quetzal, from Aztec quetzalli.
Quetzalcoatl (n.): plumed serpent god of the Toltecs and Aztecs, 1570s, from Nahuatl quetzalli "tailfeather," also the name of a brilliantly plumaged bird, + coatl "snake."
queue (n.): 15c., "tail of a beast" (heraldic term), from French queue "a tail," from Old French cue "tail," from Latin coda (dialectal variant of cauda) "tail," of unknown origin. The Middle English metaphoric extension to "line of dancers" led to extended sense of "line of people, etc." (1837). Also used 18c. in sense of "braid of hair" (first attested 1748).
queue (v.): "to stand in a line," 1927 (implied in queuing), from queue (n.). Related: Queued; queueing. Churchill is said to have coined Queuetopia (1950), to describe Britain under Labour or Socialist rule.
quey (n.): "young cow," Scottish and Northern English dialect, late 14c., from Old Norse kviga, apparently from ku "cow" (see cow (n.)).
qui vive: 1726, from French qui voulez-vous qui vive? sentinel's challenge, "whom do you wish to live," literally "(long) live who?" In other words, "whose side are you on?" (The answer might be Vive la France, Vive le roi, etc.) Hence on the vive "on the alert."
quib: from Latin quibus "by what (things)?," dative or ablative plural of quid "in what respect? to what extent?; how? why?," neuter of relative pronoun quis (see who). "[A]s a word of frequent occurrence in legal documents ... hence associated with the 'quirks and quillets' of the law." [OED]. Also cf. quibble.
quibble (n.): 1610s, "a pun, a play on words," probably a diminutive of quib "evasion of point at issue" (c.1550); that word's overuse in legal jargon supposedly gave it the association with trivial argument. Meaning "equivocation, evasion of the point" is attested from 1660s.
quibble (v.): "equivocate, evade the point," 1650s, from quibble (n.). Related: Quibbled; quibbling.
quiche (n.): 1949, from French quiche (1810), from German (Alsace-Lorraine dialect) Küche, diminutive of German Kuchen "cake" (see cake (n.)). Became fashionable 1970s; became contemptible 1980s.
quick (adj.): Old English cwic "living, alive," from Proto-Germanic *kwikwaz (cf. Old Frisian quik, Old Norse kvikr "living, alive," Old High German quec "lively," German keck "bold"), from PIE root *gwiwo- "to live" (see bio-). Sense of "lively, swift" developed by c.1300, on notion of "full of life."
NE swift or the now more common fast may apply to rapid motion of any duration, while in quick (in accordance with its original sense of 'live, lively') there is a notion of 'sudden' or 'soon over.' We speak of a fast horse or runner in a race, a quick starter but not a quick horse. A somewhat similar feeling may distinguish NHG schnell and rasch or it may be more a matter of local preference. [Buck]
Quick-witted is from 1520s. Related: Quickness.
quicken (v.): c.1300, from quick + -en (1). Related: Quickened; quickening.
quickie (n.): "sex act done hastily," 1940, from quick (adj.) + -ie.
quicklime (n.): c.1400, from quick + lime (n.1). A loan-translation of Latin calx viva.
quickly (adv.): late Old English cwiculice; see quick + -ly (2).
quicksand (n.): c.1400, from Middle English quyk "living" (see quick) + sond "sand" (see sand (n.)). Old English had cwecesund, but this might have meant "lively strait of water."
quicksilver (n.): Old English cwicseolfor, translating Latin argentum vivum (cf. Italian argento vivo), literally "living silver;" so called from its liquid mobility. See quick + silver (n.).
quid (n.1): "bite-sized piece" (of tobacco, etc.), 1727, dialectal variant of Middle English cudde, from Old English cudu, cwidu (see cud).
quid (n.2): "one pound sterling," 1680s, British slang, possibly from quid "that which is" (c.1600, see quiddity), as used in quid pro quo (q.v.).
quid pro quo: 1560s, from Latin, literally "something for something, one thing for another," from nominative and ablative neuter singulars of relative pronoun qui "who" (see who) + pro "for" (see pro-).