quotidian

adjective

quo·​tid·​i·​an kwō-ˈti-dē-ən 

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.

Synonyms

• common
• common or garden [chiefly British]
• commonplace
• everyday
• familiar
• frequent
• garden-variety
• household
• ordinary
• routine
• ubiquitous
• usual

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

Traditionally, clay artists, who made quotidian jugs and jars rather than purely aesthetic works, have been considered second-tier makers, ranking below sculptors. —Jacoba Urist, Smithsonian Magazine, 15 May 2025

Over the years, few bands have been able to do quotidian grandeur as well as Arcade Fire. —Will Dukes, Rolling Stone, 8 May 2025

In other words, marketers who want to take advantage of the big playoff ratings are generally required to purchase regular-season inventory, although that’s not to say that the premium units are deployed as a cudgel to move the more quotidian spots. —Anthony Crupi, Sportico.com, 2 May 2025

The questions raised by Nick’s decision, after all, are quotidian ones. —Alison Herman, Variety, 1 May 2025

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

Rhymes for quotidian

• ascidian
• dravidian
• obsidian
• enchiridion
• gideon
• lydian

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Medical Definition

quotidian

1 of 2 adjective

quo·​tid·​i·​an kwō-ˈtid-ē-ən 

: occurring every day

quotidian fever

quotidian

2 of 2 noun

: something (as an intermittent fever) that occurs each day