quotation

[ kwoh-tey-shuhn ]

noun

1. something that is quoted; a passage quoted from a book, speech, etc.:

   a speech full of quotations from Lincoln's letters.

   Synonyms: selection, citation, extract

2. the act or practice of quoting.
3. Commerce.
   1. the statement of the current or market price of a commodity or security.
   2. the price so stated.

quotation

/ kwəʊˈteɪʃən /

noun

1. a phrase or passage from a book, poem, play, etc, remembered and spoken, esp to illustrate succinctly or support a point or an argument
2. the act or habit of quoting from books, plays, poems, etc
3. commerce a statement of the current market price of a security or commodity
4. an estimate of costs submitted by a contractor to a prospective client; tender
5. stock exchange registration granted to a company or governmental body, enabling the shares and other securities of the company or body to be officially listed and traded
6. printing a large block of type metal that is less than type-high and is used to fill up spaces in type pages

Other Words From

• prequo·tation noun
• self-quo·tation noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of quotation¹

1525–35; 1810–15 quotation fordef 3; < Medieval Latin quotātiōn- (stem of quotātiō ), equivalent to quotāt ( us ) (past participle of quotāre; quote ) + -iōn- -ion

Example Sentences

Not exactly a happy quotation over a nature background like some of the images floating around in the blogosphere!

From The Daily Beast

My family still calls me Joe," he says, "but when my mother's mad, she'll call me Nathan in quotation marks.

From The Daily Beast

Norquist did, though, candidly note that, “there are outliers always willing to give a self-destructive quotation.”

From The Daily Beast

I saw it in "Quotation", a group show at the Confederation Center of the Arts in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island.

From The Daily Beast

The Rubio camp quickly distanced the lawmaker—who did not participate in the story—from the quotation.

From The Daily Beast

Embarrassed and ashamed, she was obliged to confess that her knowledge of the language was confined to one quotation.

From Project Gutenberg

At the first garage where I applied, a quotation made was withdrawn when it was learned that I was an American.

From Project Gutenberg

If you are really so attracted to Byronism, why not have chosen a suitable quotation from Lermontov?

From Project Gutenberg

"Her face was like the milky way," &c.—Where is the subjoined quotation taken from, and what is the context?

From Project Gutenberg

Oh, that Mr. Southey would remember the quotation which he himself brings forward from Jeremy Taylor!

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• excerpt
• passage
• quote
• reference