quietus

noun

qui·​etus kwī-ˈē-təs  -ˈā- 

1

: final settlement (as of a debt)

2

: removal from activity

especially : death

3

: something that quiets or represses

put the quietus on their celebration

Did you know?

In the early 1500s, English speakers adopted the Medieval Latin phrase quietus est (literally "he is quit") as the name for the writ of discharge exempting a baron or knight from payment of a knight's fee to the king. The expression was later shortened to "quietus" and applied to the termination of any debt. William Shakespeare was the first to use "quietus" as a metaphor for the termination of life: "For who would bear the whips and scorns of time, … When he himself might his quietus make / With a bare bodkin?" (Hamlet). The third meaning, which is more influenced by "quiet" than "quit," appeared in the 19th century. It often occurs in the phrase "put the quietus on" (as in, "The bad news put the quietus on their celebration").

Synonyms

• delivery
• discharge
• quittance
• release

Examples of quietus in a Sentence

was granted a quietus on the remainder of the debt in the old man's will

her unshakable belief in a blissful afterlife allowed her to meet her quietus without the slightest tinge of fear or regret

Recent Examples on the Web

Unfortunately, everything leads to two absurdly contrived twists, and a coda that plays like it was tacked on after preview audiences objected to the apparent quietus of a major character. —Joe Leydon, Variety, 16 Aug. 2024

On the supply side, climate experts give him credit for suspending drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and for giving the final quietus to Keystone. —Bill McKibben, The New Yorker, 9 June 2021

If Berryman is playing Cassandra to himself, crying out the details of his own quietus, how did the cry begin? —Anthony Lane, The New Yorker, 12 Oct. 2020

Word History

Etymology

Middle English quietus est, borrowed from Medieval Latin, "he is quit," formula of discharge from obligation

First Known Use

1540, in the meaning defined at sense 1

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Kids Definition

quietus

noun

qui·​etus kwī-ˈēt-əs 

1

: a final freeing from something (as a debt or duty)

2

: something that quiets or brings under control

put the quietus on their celebration