English
quoit
Quoit comes from Middle English coyte ‘flat stone’, and goes back to Latin culcita ‘mattress, bedding, pillow, cushion’.
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEculcita1‘mattress, bedding, pillow, cushion’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400coite1
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500coyte1‘flat stone’
- Englishearliest quotation 1717quoit1
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, English quoit
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1717, John Dryden, Book I: “Then, to preſerve the Fame of ſuch a deed,…”.
Earlier history uncertain. See Wiktionary.
Lineage
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEculcitaWiktionary, English quoit‘mattress, bedding, pillow, cushion’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400coiteWiktionary, English quoit
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500coyteWiktionary, English quoit‘flat stone’
- Englishearliest quotation 1717quoitWiktionary, English quoit. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1717, John Dryden, Book I: “Then, to preſerve the Fame of ſuch a deed,…”
Linked words
through Latin calx ‘heel’
calcium, chalk, calculus, causeway, calcareous, recalcitrant, calcite, caulk, calzone, 32 more
through Latin calcō ‘to trample’
through Latin culcita ‘mattress, bedding, pillow, cushion’
Today it means
noun A flat disc of metal or stone thrown at a target in the game of quoits.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “quoit”. 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 / Latin culcita / quoit