conjunction
quasī̆
quasī̆
Classical[ˈkʷa.siː]Ecclesiastical[ˈkʷaː.s̬i]
№ 938 of the 1,000 commonest wordsMille Verba core vocabulary
Meaning
- almost as if; like; as it were
quasi vērō nesciam!
as if I don't know! - Late Latinon the grounds that
quasi praedam male divisisset
on that grounds that he had poorly divided the plunder
Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers
as if
quasi — in Seneca, ch. IX
Phrases from Meissner's Latin Phrase-Book
- dixi quasi praeteriens or in transitu
- I said en passant, by the way.
- quasi praeteriens, in transitu attingere aliquid
- to make a cursory mention of a thing; to mention by the way (not obiter or in transcursu).
- omnibus innatum est et in animo quasi insculptum esse deum
- belief in God is part of every one's nature.
- sic exponere aliquid, quasi agatur res (non quasi narretur)
- to represent a thing dramatically.
- mentis quasi luminibus officere (vid. sect. XIII. 6) or animo caliginem offundere
- to obscure the mental vision.
quăsĭ (old form QVăSEI, Tab. Bantin. lin. 10; Inscr. Orell. 2488), adv. quamsi.
I. Lit., as if, just as, as it were (cf.: veluti, sicuti, tamquam): modo introii. Si. Quasi ego, quam dudum, rogem, as if I asked, Ter. And. 5, 2, 9:
quasi vero venire debuerint, just as though they ought to have come, Cic. Fam. 3, 7, 3: quasi vero ille factum id esse defendat, id. Off. 3, 9, 39: philosophia laudatarum artium omnium quasi parens, id. de Or. 1, 3, 9; cf.: quasi decursus temporis, id. Fam. 3, 2, 2.— After the comparative particles, sic, ita, perinde, proinde, item, itidem, prorsus, quippe, etc.: Graecas litteras sic avide arripui, quasi diuturnam sitim explere cupiens, as if, Cic. Sen. 8, 26: qui, quasi sua res aut honos agatur, ita diligenter, etc., id. Quint. 2, 9: atque haec perinde loquor, quasi debueris, id. ib. 26, 83: proinde quasi nostram ipsam mentem videre et sentire possimus, id. Mil. 31, 84: item quasi salsa muriatica esse autumantur, Plaut. Poen. 1, 2, 31: itidem quasi occisam suem, id. Rud. 3, 2, 46: prorsus quasi silentium damnum pulchritudinis esset, Just. 1, 7, 16: quippe quasi minus perjurii contra haberent, id. 3, 7, 15.— For sic ... quasi, in late Lat., aeque ... quasi occurs, Dig. 49, 1, 3, § 1.—After assimulare, to make or act as if: assimulabo, quasi nunc exeam, will pretend to be just going out, Ter. Eun. 3, 2, 8.— Sometimes pleon. quasi si: QVASEI SEI, Tab. Bantin. lin. 10; Inscr. Orell. 2488: quasi si esset ex se nata, Plaut. Cas. prol. 45.—II. Transf.
A. About, nearly, almost (cf.:
circiter, fere): quasi una aetas erat, Plaut. Capt. prol. 20 Brix ad loc.: quasi talenta ad quindecim Coëgi, Ter. Heaut. 1, 1, 93: quasi in extremā paginā, Cic. Or. 13, 41; Cic. Verr. 1, 8, 22; Suet. Calig. 58; Sall. J. 50, 3; 48, 3; id. H. 3, 26; 4, 41.—B. Quasi ... quasi, partly ... partly:
qui cum diceret quasi joco, quasi serio, etc., Spart. Get. 4.Charlton Lewis's shorter dictionary for students: the same scholarship in plain, modern definitions.
qua-si adv.
I. I. In hypothetical comparison, as if, just as if, as though : modo introivi. Si. quasi ego quam dudum rogem, as if I asked, T.: adsimulabo, quasi nunc exeam, will make as if, T.: cur nomen petis quasi incertum sit?: loquor, quasi ego illud fecerim: quasi tute noris, ita salutas?: haec perinde loquor, quasi debueris: quasi non omnes eius sceleris testes essent futuri, sic metuit, etc.: quasi vero paulum inter siet, just as if, T.: quasi vero consili sit res, Cs.: quasi vero ignotus nobis fuerit splendidus eques: quas (litteras) sic avide adripui, quasi sitim explere cupiens: sic est hic ordo, quasi editus in altum: potasti, Quasi re bene gestā, T.: quasi signo dato tota Italia convenit: quasi debellato, eum triumphare, L.—
II. II. In real comparison, just as, as: quasi poma ex arboribus, cruda si sunt, vix evelluntur, sic, etc.: istaec commemoratio Quasi exprobatiost benefici, is like, T.: dissensio civilis quasi permixtio terrae oriri coepit, S.: populus deligit magistratūs quasi rei p. vilicos: coniectura et quasi divinatio, a sort of: quasi murus quidam nomen imperatoris opponitur: finem (potestatis) accepit, quasi nescius exercendi, i. e. because incompetent, Ta.—
III. III. In approximation, somewhat like, about, nearly, almost, not far from: quasi talenta ad quindecim Coëgi, T.: praesidium quasi duum milium (militum), S.: quasi quiddam incredibile dicere: quasi in extrema paginā.
Origins
Univerbation of quam (“how, as”) + sī (“if”) with clitic shortening of the first vowel and iambic shortening of the second.
Elsewhere
- Englishquasi
- Frenchquasi
- Germanquasi
- Portuguesequase
- Romaniancvasi
- Spanishcasi
- Spanishcuasi
- Asturiancuasi
- Dutchquasi
- Esperantokvazaŭ
Balkano-Romance
- Romanianca și
Italo-Dalmatian
- Italianquasi
- Old Venetanasques
- Old Venetansquasio
- Sicilianquasi
- Siciliansquasi
Gallo-Italic
- Old Lombardquaxe
Gallo-Romance
- Old Catalanquaix
- Old Occitanquaisses
- Old Occitancais
Ibero-Romance
- Old Galician-Portugueseacais
In English words that came into English from quasī̆
- quasiquasī̆