Quietus
noun ·Common ·High school level
Definitions
- 1 A stillness or pause; something that quiets or represses; removal from activity. dated, uncountable, usually
"Olive's specific terrors and dangers had by this time very much blown over; Basil Ransom had given no sign of life for ages, and Henry Burrage had certainly got his quietus before they went to Europe."
- 2 euphemisms for death (based on an analogy between lying in a bed and in a tomb) wordnet
- 3 Death. dated, figuratively, uncountable, usually
"When he himſelfe might his Quietus make / With a bare Bodkin?"
- 4 Final settlement (e.g., of a debt). dated, uncountable, usually
Example
More examples"Olive's specific terrors and dangers had by this time very much blown over; Basil Ransom had given no sign of life for ages, and Henry Burrage had certainly got his quietus before they went to Europe."
Etymology
Short for Medieval Latin quiētus est (literally “he is quiet”). First attested in the 1530s. Earlier attested as Late Middle English quietus est. Doublet of coy, quiet, quit, and quite.
More for "quietus"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.