quotidian

adjective

quo·​tid·​i·​an kwō-ˈti-dē-ən How to pronounce quotidian (audio)
1
: occurring every day
quotidian fever
2
a
: belonging to each day : everyday
quotidian routine
b
: commonplace, ordinary
quotidian drabness
quotidian noun

Did you know?

In William Shakespeare's play As You Like It, the character Rosalind observes that Orlando, who has been running about in the woods carving her name on trees and hanging love poems on branches, "seems to have the quotidian of love upon him." The Bard's use doesn't make it clear that quotidian comes from a Latin word, quotidie, which means "every day." But as odd as it may seem, his use of quotidian is just a short semantic step away from the "daily" adjective sense. Some fevers come and go but occur daily; in medical use, these are called "quotidian fevers" or simply "quotidians." Poor Orlando is afflicted with such a "fever" of love.

Examples of quotidian in a Sentence

not content with the quotidian quarrels that other couples had, they had rows that shook the entire neighborhood plagued by a quotidian coughing fit, the result of years of smoking
Recent Examples on the Web After all, there were more quotidian matters to attend to. Jada Yuan, Washington Post, 11 Mar. 2024 That caption illustrates the core of the series: Friendship, at its finest, elevates the monotony of quotidian experience. Anna Kaufman, USA TODAY, 23 Feb. 2024 If anything, the authors suggested, most Americans subordinated conscience to quotidian self-interest. Sam Roberts, New York Times, 18 Feb. 2024 The film opens with a series of slightly strange yet quotidian images that place us within the setting: a bunch of rotting fruit collecting in a storm drain, a deer walking down a set of outdoor stairs. Katie Walsh, Los Angeles Times, 27 Jan. 2024 That’s Perfect Days boiled down to synopsis form, all minor incidents and scenes of quotidian activities that risk repetition. David Fear, Rolling Stone, 7 Feb. 2024 But my belief is that the quotidian killer apps will come. Jaron Lanier, The New Yorker, 2 Feb. 2024 Some of life’s happiest happy endings and greatest lessons are delivered through the quotidian experiences of parenthood. Amy Dickinson, Chicago Tribune, 30 Jan. 2024 Projects that cross the transom of the Beverly Hills building department include the extravagant — pool grottoes and bowling alleys — as well as the more quotidian kitchen and living room upgrades. Liam Dillon, Los Angeles Times, 18 Jan. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'quotidian.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Middle English cotidian, from Anglo-French, from Latin quotidianus, cotidianus, from quotidie every day, from quot (as) many as + dies day — more at deity

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of quotidian was in the 14th century

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Dictionary Entries Near quotidian

Cite this Entry

“Quotidian.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/quotidian. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Medical Definition

quotidian

1 of 2 adjective
quo·​tid·​i·​an kwō-ˈtid-ē-ən How to pronounce quotidian (audio)
: occurring every day
quotidian fever

quotidian

2 of 2 noun
: something (as an intermittent fever) that occurs each day
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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