quarry

Quarry in the meaning “game” or “prey” can be traced to a hunting ritual from medieval times. At the end of a successful hunt the hounds used in the pursuit were rewarded with a part of the slain animal's entrails. Traditionally the entrails were spread out on the animal's hide. The word for the hounds' feast in medieval French was cuiree, a derivative of cuir, meaning “skin, hide.” Cuiree was borrowed into English as querre or quirre. Over time the meaning of the word shifted from the slain animal's entrails to the live animal itself, seen as the object of a hunt.

The origin of this word is completely different from that of the quarry meaning “prey.” The word quadrus in Latin meant “hewn stone” and is related to Latin quadrum, “square,” and quadri-, “four” (as in English quadrilateral). From a derivative of quadrum came Old French quarrere, “pit for cutting stone,” which was borrowed into English and eventually altered to quarry.