Quarts

/kwɔːrts/ noun

Definition

Plural of quart; a unit of liquid capacity equal to one-quarter of a gallon or about 946 milliliters.

Etymology

From Old French 'quarte' and Latin 'quartus' meaning 'fourth,' because a quart is literally one-quarter of a gallon. The '-s' makes it plural.

Kelly Says

The 'quart' measurement system reveals the Roman obsession with dividing things systematically—they divided a gallon into quarters, which is why we also have 'quarter' (1/4) and 'quartile' (statistical divisions into fourths)! Americans use quarts, but metric countries find this base-4 system charmingly overcomplicated.

Related Words

Explore More Words

Get the Word Orb API

Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.