quarter
• noun 1 each of four equal or corresponding parts into which something is or can be divided. 2 a period of three months, used especially in reference to financial transactions. 3 a quarter-hour. 4 a US or Canadian coin worth 25 cents. 5 one fourth of a pound weight (avoirdupois, equal to 4 ounces). 6 one fourth of a hundredweight (Brit. 28 lb or US 25 lb). 7 a part of a town or city with a specific character or use: the business quarter. 8 (quarters) rooms or lodgings. 9 a person, area, etc. regarded as the source of something: help from an unexpected quarter. pity or mercy shown to an opponent: they gave the enemy no quarter. (quarters) the haunches or hindquarters of a horse. the direction of one of the points of the compass. • verb 1 divide into quarters. 2 historical cut the body of (an executed person) into four parts. 3 (be quartered) be stationed or lodged. 4 range over (an area) in all directions. 5 Heraldry display (different coats of arms) in the four divisions of a shield. — ORIGIN Latin quartarius ‘fourth part of a measure’, from quartus ‘fourth’.
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