Quoted

Part of speech: verb

Pronunciation: /ˈkwəʊtɪd/

Definitions

1. Enclosed in speech marks to indicate exact words taken from another source ; described as having been cited or referenced verbatim from someone else’s spoken or written expression ; identified by the use of quotation marks signifying reproduction of another’s wording
2. Marked by punctuation that shows the phrasing comes directly from another source ; represented as directly lifted or repeated from an original statement or text ; shown as being accurately transcribed through the use of quotation marks
3. Signified as a passage or phrase reproduced word-for-word from an external origin ; denoted by the use of quotation marks to show fidelity to an original statement ; characterized by being explicitly referenced as someone else’s words

Etymology: The verb "quoted" traces its lineage back through a fascinating evolution of meaning and form. Its root is the verb "quote," which in modern English means to repeat or copy out a group of words from a text or speech, typically with an explicit indication that one is not the original author. This sense only became common in the late 17th century, but the underlying word draws on much older traditions. The story begins with the Latin "quotare," meaning "to mark the number of," from "quot," meaning "how many." In Medieval Latin, "quotare" was used in the sense of "to number the chapters or verses of a book," which is a direct ancestor of the bibliographic and textual sense that would later evolve in English. The word passed into Old French as "coter," meaning "to mark with numbers," before entering English in the 15th century as "cote" or "quote," initially meaning "to cite by way of reference"—that is, to indicate the location of a passage by chapter and verse. It was only over time that the meaning shifted from simply marking or numbering references, to the more familiar modern sense of repeating someone's exact words. The transformation from "to mark or refer to" toward "to repeat verbatim" unfolded over the 16th and 17th centuries, as the practice of scholarly citation and literary quotation became more widespread. Thus, the modern verb encapsulates a centuries-long journey from marking numbers in the margins of manuscripts to the act of echoing someone else's words. The form "quoted" is simply the regular past tense of "quote," constructed with the "-ed" suffix that English uses for most verbs. There is no special story behind this aspect of the word—just the standard pattern of verb inflection in English. Yet, when you say that someone "quoted" another, you are participating in a tradition that stretches back to medieval scribes numbering the pages and verses of cherished texts.

Synonyms: cited, referred, mentioned, noted, acknowledged