quoth means said. It carries an Arena rating of 1560, earned across 2 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, quoth ranks #1,378 of 17,116 for Words That Escaped Their Books, #4,056 of 17,128 for Most Whimsical Words, #5,770 of 17,150 for Funniest Words, #7,044 of 17,115 for Most Vivid Words.
quoth is pronounced /kwəʊθ/.
Why “quoth” is a great word
Said; used only in the first and third person singular past tense, and always placed before the subject. From Middle English *quoth*, *quath*, from Old English *cwæþ* (first and third person past indicative of *cweþan*, "to say, speak to"), from Proto-Germanic *kwaþ* (past indicative of *kweþaną*, "to say"). Unlike "said" (the standard, productive verb for all modern speech) or "quote" (to repeat another's words with attribution), *quoth* is syntactically petrified, a fossil of speech. It is the raven's "Nevermore," the ancient mariner's interruption, and the flat declaration of a tale's end—a word that remembers when language was carved rather than spoken, and a statement, once uttered, could not be taken back.
Etymology
From Middle English quoth, quath, from Old English cwæþ (first and third person past indicative of cweþan (“to say, speak to, address, exhort, admonish”)), from Proto-Germanic *kwaþ (first and third person past indicative of Proto-Germanic *kweþaną (“to say”)). Unrelated to quote.
verb
- saide.g.“Tell me what thy lordly name is on the Night's Plutonian shore! / Quoth the raven, "Nevermore."”
- To say.e.g.“But the Healing-one stood before the under-king, and the under-king arraigned him, quothing, thou art the king of the Jews? the Healing-one quoths him, thou quoths.”
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