quarter

Definitions

1. 1.Proper station; specific place; assigned position; special location. Swift to their several quarters hasted then The cumbrous elements. Milton. Hence, specifically: (a) (Naut.) A station at which officers and men are posted in battle; -- usually in the plural. (b) Place of lodging or temporary residence; shelter; entertainment; -- usually in the plural. The banter turned as to what quarters each would find. W. Irving. (c) pl. (Mil.) A station or encampment occupied by troops; a place of lodging for soldiers or officers; as, winter quarters. (d) Treatment shown by an enemy; mercy; especially, the act of sparing the life a conquered enemy; a refraining from pushing one's advantage to extremes. He magnified his own clemency, now they were at his mercy, to offer them quarter for their lives. Clarendon. Cocks and lambs . . . at the mercy of cats and wolves . . . must never expect better quarter. L'Estrange.
2. 2.Friendship; amity; concord. [Obs.] To keep quarter, to keep one's proper place, and so be on good terms with another. [Obs.] In quarter, and in terms like bride and groom. Shak. I knew two that were competitors for the secretary's place, . . . and yet kept good quarter between themselves. Bacon. False quarter, a cleft in the quarter of a horse's foot. -- Fifth quarter, the hide and fat; -- a butcher's term. -- On the quarter (Naut.), in a direction between abeam and astern; opposite, or nearly opposite, a vessel's quarter. -- Quarter aspect. (Astrol.) Same as Quadrate. -- Quarter back (Football), the player who has position next behind center rush, and receives the ball on the snap back. -- Quarter badge (Naut.), an ornament on the side of a vessel near, the stern. Mar. Dict. -- Quarter bill (Naut.), a list specifying the different stations to be taken by the officers and crew in time of action, and the names of the men assigned to each. -- Quarter block (Naut.), a block fitted under the quarters of a yard on each side of the slings, through which the clew lines and sheets are reeved. R. H. Dana, Jr. -- Quarter boat (Naut.), a boat hung at a vessel's quarter. -- Quarter cloths (Naut.), long pieces of painted canvas, used to cover the quarter netting. -- Quarter day, a day regarded as terminating a quarter of the year; hence, one on which any payment, especially rent, becomes due. In matters influenced by United States statutes, quarter days are the first days of January, April, July, and October. In New York and many other places, as between landlord and tenant, they are the first days of May, August, November, and February. The quarter days usually recognized in England are 25th of March (Lady Day), the 24th of June (Midsummer Day), the 29th of September (Michaelmas Day), and the 25th of December (Christmas Day). -- Quarter face, in fine arts, portrait painting, etc., a face turned away so that but one quarter is visible. -- Quarter gallery (Naut.), a balcony on the quarter of a ship. See Gallery, 4. -- Quarter gunner (Naut.), a petty officer who assists the gunner. -- Quarter look, a side glance. [Obs.] B. Jonson. -- Quarter nettings (Naut.), hammock nettings along the quarter rails. -- Quarter note (Mus.), a note equal in duration to half a minim or a fourth of semibreve; a crochet. -- Quarter pieces (Naut.), several pieces of timber at the after- part of the quarter gallery, near the taffrail. Totten. -- Quarter point. (Naut.) See Quarter, n., 1 (n). -- Quarter railing, or Quarter rails (Naut.), narrow molded planks reaching from the top of the stern to the gangway, serving as a fence to the quarter-deck. -- Quarter sessions (Eng. Law), a general court of criminal jurisdiction held quarterly by the justices of peace in counties and by the recorders in boroughs. -- Quarter square (Math.), the fourth part of the square of a number. Tables of quarter squares have been devised to save labor in multiplying numbers. -- Quarter turn, Quarter turn belt (Mach.), an arrangement in which a belt transmits motion between two shafts which are at right angles with each other. -- Quarter watch (Naut.), a subdivision of the full watch (one fourth of the crew) on a man-of- war. -- To give, or show, quarter (Mil.), to accept as prisoner, on submission in battle; to forbear to kill, as a vanquished enemy. -- To keep quarter. See Quarter, n., 3.
3. 3.To divide into four equal parts.
4. 4.To divide; to separate into parts or regions. Then sailors quartered heaven. Dryden.
5. 5.To furnish with shelter or entertainment; to supply with the means of living for a time; especially, to furnish shelter to; as, to quarter soldiers. They mean this night in Sardis to be quartered. Shak.
6. 6.To furnish as a portion; to allot. [R.] This isle . . . He quarters to his blue-haired deities. Milton.
7. 7.(Her.) To arrange (different coats of arms) upon one escutcheon, as when a man inherits from both father and mother the right to bear arms. Note: When only two coats of arms are so combined they are arranged in four compartments. See Quarter, n., 1 (f).
8. 8.To lodge; to have a temporary residence.
9. 9.To drive a carriage so as to prevent the wheels from going into the ruts, or so that a rut shall be between the wheels. Every creature that met us would rely on us for quartering. De Quincey.

Source: Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913 edition (public domain, via GCIDE / Project Gutenberg).

Synonyms

Related questions

• What does "quarter" mean?
• What is another word for "quarter"?

Reverse-dictionary questions

Definition-first questions whose answer is quarter.

• What is to divide; to separate into parts or regions. Then sailors quartered heaven. Dryden called?
• What is to furnish as a portion; to allot. [R.] This isle . . . He quarters to his blue-haired deities. Milton called?
• What is to lodge; to have a temporary residence called?
• What is to drive a carriage so as to prevent the wheels from going into the ruts, or so that a rut shall be between the wheels. Every creature that met us would rely on us for quartering. De Quincey called?