English
quiet
Quiet comes from Middle English quiete, from Old French quiet, from Latin quiētus ‘at rest, quiet’, past participle of quiēscō ‘to rest’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kʷyeh₁-1‘rest’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEquiēs1‘rest, repose’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEquiēscō1‘to rest’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEquiētus1‘at rest, quiet’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400quiet1
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500quiete1
- Englishearliest quotation 1593quiet1
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, English quiet
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1593, anonymous author, The Life and Death of Iacke Straw […]: “The King & his Nobles thinke they may ſleepe…”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kʷyeh₁-Wiktionary, English quiet‘rest’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEquiēsWiktionary, English quiet‘rest, repose’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEquiēscōWiktionary, English quiet‘to rest’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEquiētusWiktionary, English quiet‘at rest, quiet’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400quietWiktionary, English quiet
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500quieteWiktionary, English quiet
- Englishearliest quotation 1593quietWiktionary, English quiet. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1593, anonymous author, The Life and Death of Iacke Straw […]: “The King & his Nobles thinke they may ſleepe…”
The story
Largely displaced native English still in the sense of "with little or no sound".
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *kʷyeh₁- ‘rest’
while, whilst, coy, tranquil, requiem, quiescent, 18 more
through Latin quiētus ‘at rest/nap, quiet, keeping quiet, quietude,…’
Today it means
adj With little or no sound; free of disturbing noise.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “quiet”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *kʷyeh₁- / quiet