LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
conjunction

quia1

quia
Classical[ˈkʷi.a]Ecclesiastical[ˈkʷiː.a]
№ 132 of the 1,000 commonest wordsMille Verba core vocabulary

Meaning

  1. because, due to the fact that, for
    Tobias vero cum filio suo et cum uxore fugiens nudus latuit quia multi diligebant eumBut Tobias fleeing naked away with his son and with his wife, lay concealed, for many loved him.c. 347 CE – 420 CE, Hieronymus, Vulgate Tobiae.1.23
    et aut ego indigna fui illis aut illi mihi forsitan digni non fuerunt quia forsitan viro alio conservasti meAnd either I was unworthy of them, or they perhaps were not worthy of me: because perhaps thou hast kept me for another man,c. 347 CE – 420 CE, Hieronymus, Vulgate Tobiae.3.19
  2. Late Latin(the fact) that
    et audierunt vicini et cognati eius quia magnificavit Dominus misericordiam suam cum illa et congratulabantur eiHer neighbors and her relatives heard that the Lord had magnified his mercy towards her, and they rejoiced with her.c. 347 CE – 420 CE, Hieronymus, Vulgate Lucas.1.58

In the readers how our graded readers gloss it

because
quia — in Seneca, ch. II

quĭă,
I. conj. [for quiam, from abl. quī and jam, whereby now; hence], because (usually, like quod, of the determining reason; while quonĭam introduces any casual circumstance).
I. In gen., constr. with indic. in asserting a fact; with subj. in stating an assumed reason, or one entertained by another mind: quia fores nostras ausa es accedere, quiaque istas buccas, Plaut. Truc. 2, 2, 34: urbs, quae quia postrema aedificata est, Neapolis nominatur, Cic. Verr. 2, 4, 53, § 119: non quia multis debeo, id. Planc. 32, 78: non quia plus animi victis est, sed, etc., Liv. 10, 41, 12: non tam quia pacem volebant Samnites, quam quia nondum parati erant ad bellum, id. 8, 19, 3; 7, 30, 13; 33, 27, 6; 39, 41, 2. — With subj.: nil satis est, inquit, quia tantum, quantum habeas, sis, Hor. S. 1, 1, 62; cf. id. Ep. 1, 1, 30; Just. 17, 3, 10: mater irata est, quia non redierim, Plaut. Cist. 1, 1, 103; Hor. S. 2, 3, 101; 2, 2, 25; Just. 24, 3, 3: carent quia, Hor. C. 4, 9, 28.—
II. Esp., with other particles.
A. Quiane, in a question, because? (ante-class. and poet.): Do. Tu nunc me irrides? Le. Quiane te voco, bene ut tibi sit? Plaut. Pers. 5, 2, 69: quiane auxilio juvat ante levatos? Verg. A. 4, 538. —
B. Quia enim, because forsooth (poet.): quī tibi nunc istuc in mentem venit? So. Quia enim sero advenimus, Plaut. Am. 2, 2, 34; Ter. Heaut. 1, 2, 14.—
C. Quia nam, and quianam, like the Gr. τί γάρ, why? wherefore? (poet.): quianam pro quare et cur positum apud antiquos, Fest. p. 257 Müll.; Naev. and Enn. ap. Fest. l. l.: quianam arbitrare? Plaut. Truc. 1, 2, 34: quianam legiones caedimu' ferro? Enn. ap. Serv. Verg. A 10, 6: quianam sententia vobis Versa retro? Verg. A. 10, 6; 5, 13 al.—
III. Introducing an object-clause, = quod, that (postclass.): nescitis quia iniqui non possidebunt? Vulg. 1 Cor. 6, 9; id. 4 Reg. 2, 3: credo, quia mendacio possunt (animas movere), Tert. Anim. 5; id. Idol. 20: ignoras, quia, etc., Aug. Serm. 9, 3; Macr. Somn. Scip. 1, 6, 62: non advertentes, quia, etc., Cael. Aur. Tard. 1, 5, 71.—Quia very rarely follows the verb, Hor. S. 1, 9, 51.

Origins

Old neuter plural accusative case of quis, from Proto-Indo-European *kʷih₂. Corresponds both formally and functionally to Megara Ancient Greek σᾰ́ (sắ, “what?”), and functionally to ὅτι (hóti); this and other evidence point to the Greek origin of the use of quia as a subordinator, in contrast to quod where there's stronger evidence for a native development.

Balkano-Romance
  • Romanianca
Italo-Romance
  • Italianca
  • Neapolitanca
  • Sicilianca
Ibero-Romance
  • Asturiancafrom Old Leonese qua
  • Old Galician-Portugueseca
  • Old Spanishca

In English words that came into English from quia

  • quiaquia
conjunction
quia2
quia (+ ind)
Classical[ˈkʷi.a]Ecclesiastical[ˈkʷiː.a]
№ 132 of the 1,000 commonest wordsMille Verba core vocabulary

Meaning

  1. with that, to any extent that, anyway that
  2. because that

Origins

Univerbation of quī (“whereby, wherewith; Old instrumental case of quis, from Proto-Indo-European *kʷíh₁”) + iam (“anymore”) with iambic shortening of iam, Compare to quasi and quoniam.

adverb
quia3
quia (not comparable)
Classical[ˈkʷi.a]Ecclesiastical[ˈkʷiː.a]
№ 132 of the 1,000 commonest wordsMille Verba core vocabulary

Meaning

  1. not comparablerareanyway
  2. not comparablerareanywith, anyby

Origins

Univerbation of quī (“whereby, wherewith; Old instrumental case of quis, from Proto-Indo-European *kʷíh₁”) + iam (“anymore”) with iambic shortening of iam, Compare to quasi and quoniam.

Quick answers

What does quia mean in Latin?
quia, a conjunction, means “because, due to the fact that, for; (the fact) that”.
How do you pronounce quia?
In classical Latin, [ˈkʷi.a]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [ˈkʷiː.a].