quoth

[kwohth]

verb Archaic.

said (used with nouns, and with first- and third-person pronouns, and always placed before the subject): Quoth the raven, “Nevermore.”

Also quo.

Origin of quoth

1150–1200; preterit of quethe (otherwise obsolete), Middle English quethen, Old English cwethan to say. Cf. bequeath

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Examples from the Web for quoth

Historical Examples of quoth

"I doubt it not, mon ami," quoth the archer, going back to his tankard.
The White Company
Arthur Conan Doyle
"These are the Beating Friars, otherwise called the Flagellants," quoth he.
The White Company
Arthur Conan Doyle
"The more reason that I should strive to mend him," quoth Alleyne.
The White Company
Arthur Conan Doyle
"Streams may spring from one source, and yet some be clear and some be foul," quoth she quickly.
The White Company
Arthur Conan Doyle
"You have but changed from one white company to the other," quoth Aylward.
The White Company
Arthur Conan Doyle

British Dictionary definitions for quoth

quoth

verb

archaic (used with all pronouns except thou and you, and with nouns) another word for said 1 (def. 2)

Word Origin for quoth

Old English cwæth, third person singular of cwethan to say; related to Old Frisian quetha to say, Old Saxon, Old High German quethan; see bequeath

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 quoth

Old English cwæð, third person singular past tense of cweðan "to say, speak; name, call; declare, proclaim" (Middle English quethan), from Proto-Germanic *kwithan (cf. Old Saxon quethan, Old Norse kveða, Old Frisian quetha, Old High German quedan, Gothic qiþan), from PIE root *gwet- "to say, speak" (see bequeath). Cf. also archaic quotha "said he" (1510s) for Old English cwæðe ge "think you?"