quietus

[kwahy-ee-tuh s]

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noun, plural qui·e·tus·es.

a finishing stroke; anything that effectually ends or settles: Having given a quietus to the argument, she left.

discharge or release from life.

a period of retirement or inactivity.

Origin of quietus

1530–40; < Medieval Latin quiētus quit (in quiētus est (he) is quit, a formula of acquittance), Latin: (he) is quiet, at rest (see quiet¹); cf. quit¹ (adj.)

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for quietus

clincher, overthrow, overcoming

Examples from the Web for quietus

Contemporary Examples of quietus

The briefest glance at David's productivity and output during his tenure there ought to put the quietus on that canard.
The Frum Flap
Christopher Buckley
March 27, 2010

Historical Examples of quietus

It was in the second of those rooms that I nearly got my quietus.
A Thin Ghost and Others
M. R. (Montague Rhodes) James
Now that's impossible, seeing that the night porter got his quietus also.
The Slave of Silence
Fred M. White
She felt that "she herself might her quietus make with a bare bodkin."
Linda Tressel
Anthony Trollope
Which step should I take first—the quietus, of 'curds-and-whey,' or the courtship?
The Evil Eye; Or, The Black Spector
William Carleton
I gave in my account about the sick and wounded, in order to have my quietus.
The Diary of John Evelyn, Volume II (of 2)
John Evelyn

British Dictionary definitions for quietus

quietus

noun plural -tuses

anything that serves to quash, eliminate, or killto give the quietus to a rumour

a release from life; death

the discharge or settlement of debts, duties, etc

Word Origin for quietus

C16: from Latin quiētus est, literally: he is at rest, quiet

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for quietus

"discharge, clearing of accounts," 1530s, short for Medieval Latin phrase quietus est "he is quit" (see quit). Hence, "death" (i.e. "final discharge"), c.1600. Latin quies also was used for "the peace of death."