Divided into four equal parts; provided with lodging or accommodation. In heraldry, divided into four sections; historically, a method of execution by dismemberment.
From Old French 'quartier', from Latin 'quartarius' meaning 'a fourth part'. The housing sense developed because soldiers were often billeted in one-fourth of a building, while the execution sense referred to dividing the body into four parts.
The word's journey from mathematical division to housing to gruesome execution shows how one concept can branch into completely different domains. 'Drawn and quartered' was considered the most severe punishment in medieval England, reserved for high treason.
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