qua

[kwey, kwah]

adverb

1. as; as being; in the character or capacity of.

   The work of art qua art can be judged by aesthetic criteria only.

qua

/ kwɑː, kweɪ /

preposition

1. in the capacity of; by virtue of being

Word History and Origins

Origin of qua¹

First recorded in 1640–50; from Latin quā, feminine ablative singular of the relative pronoun quī who

Word History and Origins

Origin of qua¹

C17: from Latin, ablative singular (feminine) of qui who

Example Sentences

In Roberts’ opinion, he speaks about prohibiting universities from considering what he calls race qua race, and that, in my view, leaves institutions with a considerable amount of latitude to adopt and implement policies that would maintain and allow racial diversity to rebound.

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But I think that, in a world of vigilantism and stochastic terror, it is not just bad for speech qua speech, but for governance qua governance.

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The photo-op had supplanted policy as the sine qua non of political discourse.

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The core of the Jan. 6 case is a breathtaking effort to exhort supporters to commit an insurrection and prevent the peaceful transfer of power, the sine qua non of a democracy.

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What I did in the meantime — because I knew that I had to be there and eat the food, and know the people, and that was sine qua non.

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