quam

See also: Quam, quặm, and QAM

Latin

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /kʷam/, [kʷä̃ˑ]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /kwam/, [kwäm]

Etymology 1

From Proto-Italic *kʷis, *kʷoi, from Proto-Indo-European *kʷeh₂m, accusative of *kʷeh₂, feminine of *kʷos, *kʷis. Compare its masculine form cum (as in tum-tam).

According to L. R. Palmer, "In such a sentence as hic tam beatus est, quam ille the sense of tam beatus could equally be rendered by non beatior. It was presumably by the substitution of equivalent expressions ('contamination'), possibly first in negative expressions, that the illogical quam 'as' came to be used after comparatives."^[1]

Alternative forms

• quamde, quande

Adverb

quam

1. (before superlative adjectives and adverbs) in what (which) way, to what (which) degree; how, how much, as much as, as far as

   quam potuit ― in what way/to what degree/how/how much/as much as/as far as he could

   quam primum ― as quickly as possible

   quam celerrime ― as quickly as possible

   quam maxime ― as far as possible

   quam serissime ― as late as possible

   quam saepissime ― much often

   Quam rogas! ― How much you ask!

   • c. 52 BCE, Julius Caesar, Commentarii de Bello Gallico VII.8:

     Equitibus imperat, ut quam latissime possint vagentur et quam maximum hostibus terrorem inferant

     He orders the cavalry to extend themselves as far as they could, and strike as great a panic as possible into the enemy

   • c. 52 BCE, Julius Caesar, Commentarii de Bello Gallico VII.9:

     ut in omnes partes equites quam latissime pervagentur

     that the cavalry should range as extensively as possible in all directions

   • c. 52 BCE, Julius Caesar, Commentarii de Bello Gallico VII.9:

     quam maximis potest itineribus

     by as long journeys as he can

   • c. 52 BCE, Julius Caesar, Commentarii de Bello Gallico VII.11:

     Ipse, ut quam primum iter faceret

     He himself, with the intention of marching as soon as possible

2. (in comparisons) as

   Tam similis est, quam potest.

   It is as similar as it can be.

3. (after comparative adjectives and adverbs) than

   alius quam ― different than

   ante quam (+ subjunctive or infinitive) ― sooner than

   aliter quam voles ― in a different way than you want

   Hic maior est, quam ille.

   This is bigger than that.

   • 68 BCE – 44 BCE, Cicero, Epistulae ad Atticum 4.4A:

     offendēs dissignātiōnem Tyranniōnis mīrificam librōrum meōrum, quōrum reliquiae multō meliōrēs sunt quam putāram

     You will encounter Tyrannio's wonderful arrangement of my books, the remains of which are much better than I had thought.

   • c. 52 BCE, Julius Caesar, Commentarii de Bello Gallico VII.9:

     Priusque omnes in unum locum cogit quam de eius adventu Arvernis nuntiari posset

     and gathers all legions into one place sooner than (before) the intelligence of his arrival could be announced to the Arverni

   • c. 52 BCE, Julius Caesar, Commentarii de Bello Gallico VII.10:

     Praestare visum est tamen omnis difficultates perpeti quam tanta contumelia accepta

     However it seemed better to sustain any hardship than to accept such an insult

   • 405 CE, Jerome, Vulgate Tobias 2:9:

     sed Tobias plus timens Deum quam regem rapiebat corpora occisorum et occultabat in domo sua et mediis noctibus sepeliebat ea

     But Tobias fearing God more than the king, carried off the bodies of them that were slain, and hid them in his house, and at midnight buried them.

4. (rare) rather than
   • 27 BCE – 25 BCE, Titus Livius, Ab Urbe Condita I.35:

     Romae se quam in vetere patria vixisse

     he had lived in Rome rather than his city of birth

Coordinate terms

• tam

Derived terms

• perquam
• priusquam
• quamdiū
• quamquam
• quamvis
• quandō
• quantus
• quasi
• quisquam
• quōquam
• tamquam
• umquam
• usquam

Related terms

type	demonstrative			anaphoric	identity	interrogative/ relative	indefinite					negative	other
	proximal	medial	distal				relative	indefinite	free choice	universal	negative polarity
basic	hic	iste, istic	ille, illic	is	ipse, īdem	quis/quī	quisquis, quīcumque	quis, quī, quīdam, aliquis, aliquī, quispiam	quīvis, quīlibet	quisque	quisquam, ūllus, °aliquisquam	nēmō, nihil, nūllus	alius
dual						uter	utercumque	alteruter	utervīs, uterlibet	uterque		neuter	alter
place	hīc	istīc	illīc	ibī̆	ibī̆dem	ubī̆	ubiubi, ubī̆cumque	alicubī, uspiam	ubivīs, ubilibet	ubīque	usquam	nusquam, nūllibī	alibī, aliās
source	hinc	istinc	illinc	inde	indidem	unde	undecumque, undeunde	alicunde	°undelibet	undique			aliunde
destination	hūc, °hōrsum	istūc, °istōrsum	illūc, °illōrsum	eō	eōdem	quō, quōrsum	quōquō, quōcumque	aliquō, quōpiam, °aliquōvorsum	quōvīs, quōlibet		quōquam	nusquam, nūllōrsum	aliō, aliōrsum
method, means, path, place	hāc	istāc	illāc	eā	eādem	quā	quāquā, quācumque	aliquā	quāvīs, quālibet	quāque		nēquāquam, haudquāquam	aliā
manner	hōc modō	istō modō	illō modō	ita, sīc, eō modō	item, itidem	ut, quī, quō modō, quōmodo, quemadmodum	utut, utcumque, quōmodocumque	quī, quōdam modō, aliquō modō	quōmodolibet	utīque	ūllō modō	nūllō modō	aliter, aliōquī, alterō/aliō modō
time	num, nunc		ōlim	tum, tunc	simul	quandō, ‡cum	cumque, quandōcumque, quandōque	quondam, aliquandō	quandōlibet	quandōque	umquam	numquam	aliās
quantity				tam	†tamen, †tandem	quam	†quamquam	aliquam	quamvīs, quamlibet
size				tantus	tantusdem	quantus	quantuscumque	aliquantus	quantusvīs, quantuslibet
quality				tālis		quālis	quālis, quāliscumque	aliquālis	quālislibet
number				tot	totidem	quot	quotquot, quotcumque	aliquot	quotlibet
order				totus		quotus	quotuscumque	aliquotus	quotuslibet
repetition				totiēns		quotiēns	quotiēnscumque	aliquotiēns	quotiēnslibet
multiplication				totuplex		quotuplex
† Turned conjunction with original meaning somewhat dissimulated ° Rare ‡only used as a conjunction, not as an interrogative

Latin correlatives ^(edit)

Descendants

• French: que (“than, as”)
• Old Galician-Portuguese: quan; ca
  • Galician: can (“how”); ca (“than”)
  • Portuguese: quão (“how, as”); ca (“than”) (northern)
• Romanian: ca (“than, as”)
• Romansch: ca (“than”)
• Spanish: cuan (“how”)

References

• “quam”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “quam”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• quam in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)
• quam in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette, pages 1,290–1,291.
• Carl Meißner, Henry William Auden (1894) Latin Phrase-Book‎, London: Macmillan and Co.
  • (ambiguous) I cannot wait till..: nihil mihi longius est or videtur quam dum or quam ut
    
  • (ambiguous) nothing is more tiresome to me than..: nihil mihi longius est quam (c. Inf.)
    
  • (ambiguous) it is more than twenty years ago: amplius sunt (quam) viginti anni or viginti annis
    
  • (ambiguous) Plato's ideal republic: illa civitas, quam Plato finxit
    
  • (ambiguous) this is more plausible than true: haec speciosiora quam veriora sunt
    
  • (ambiguous) I have exhausted all my material: copiam quam potui persecutus sum
    
  • (ambiguous) there is nothing I am more interested in than..: nihil antiquius or prius habeo quam ut (nihil mihi antiquius or potius est, quam ut)
    
  • (ambiguous) by the longest possible forced marches: quam maximis itineribus (potest)
    
• Dizionario Latino, Olivetti
• quam in Ramminger, Johann (2024 November (last accessed)) Neulateinische Wortliste: Ein Wörterbuch des Lateinischen von Petrarca bis 1700‎, pre-publication website, 2005-2016
• “quam” on pages 1,537–1,538 of the Oxford Latin Dictionary (1st ed., 1968–82)

1. Palmer, L.R. (1906) The Latin Language, London, Faber and Faber, p. 337

Etymology 2

See quī (relative pronoun and interrogative adjective).

Pronoun

quam

1. accusative singular feminine of quī

Adjective

quam

1. accusative singular feminine of quī

Etymology 3

See quis (pronoun).

Pronoun

quam

1. accusative singular feminine of quis

Middle Dutch

Verb

quam

1. first/third-person singular past indicative of cōmen

Middle English

Pronoun

quam

1. (Northern) Alternative form of whom (“who, whom”, accusative)