qua
Americanadverb
preposition
Etymology
Origin of qua
First recorded in 1640–50; from Latin quā, feminine ablative singular of the relative pronoun quī who
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
So it’s not just religion qua religion, or religion and law; it’s really bolted onto ideas of capitalism and the economy and dominion of the world.
From Slate ● Mar. 10, 2026
In fact, the history of whaling on its own disproves the central point of “The Killing Age,” that guns were a sine qua non for the making of the modern world.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 14, 2025
But a first hostage deal “is the sine qua non of the administration’s larger regional deal,” said Martin S. Indyk, a former U.S. ambassador to Israel.
From New York Times ● Jan. 25, 2024
From sine qua non of American psychedelia, to folk-rock deity, jam band progenitor, disco Dead and Top 40 sensation, there was seemingly no pivot the band couldn’t navigate in its 30 years.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 3, 2023
“I’m afraid Mr. Lemoncello doesn’t like libraries qua libraries.”
From "Mr. Lemoncello's Library Olympics" by Chris Grabenstein
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
