pronouninterrogative/indefinite pronoun (with m optionally → n in compounds)
quis1
quis or quī or quei (feminine quae or quis or qua, neuter quid)
Classical[ˈkʷɪs]Ecclesiastical[ˈkʷis]
№ 212 of the 1,000 commonest wordsMille Verba core vocabulary
Meaning
- interrogativepronounwho?
Quis custōdiet ipsōs custōdēs?
who will watch the watchmen themselves?Quis mē est dītior?
Who's richer than me?c. 186 BCE, Plautus, Aulularia 809 - interrogativepronounwhat?
Quid accidit?
What happened?Quid agis?
How are you? - interrogativepronounwhat?
Pro deum hominumque fidem! Quid hoc est? Quae haec causa est? Quae ista impudentia?
For heaven's sake! What is this? What is the cause? What is this impudence of yours?70 BCE, Cicero, In Verrem 2.4.7.6-7Quis est iste ordo?
2010 translation by D. R. Shackleton Bailey What category is this?44 BCE – 43 BCE, Cicero, Philippicae 6.14 - interrogativepronounwho?
Quis es?
Who are you? (with the default emphasis on you)Quis es tū?
Who are you? (with the marked emphasis on are) - interrogativepronounusuallywhich (of)? (mainly out of three or more, vs. uter "which of two?")
Ex comparatione, in qua per contentionem, utrum potius aut quid potissimum sit quaeritur
1949 translation by H. M. Hubbell The case involves comparison when various actions are contrasted and the question is which one is more desirable or which is most desirable to perform84 BCE, Cicero, De inventione 1.17.10suavitatem Isocrates, subtilitatem Lysias, acumen Hyperides, sonitum Aeschines, vim Demosthenes habuit. Quis eorum non egregius? Tamen quis cuiusquam nisi sui similis? Gravitatem Africanus, lenitatem Laelius, asperitatem Galba, profluens quiddam habuit Carbo et canorum. Quis horum non princeps temporibus illis fuit? Et suo tamen quisque in genere princeps.
1942 translation by H. Rackham Isocrates had grace of style, Lysias precision, Hyperides penetration, Aeschines sonorousness, Demosthenes force: which of them is not eminent? and yet which resembles anyone but himself? Africanus had weight, Laelius smoothness, Galba harshness, Carbo a kind of flow and melody: which of these in the old days was not eminent? and yet each eminent in his own particular style.55 BCE, Cicero, De oratore 3.28 - interrogativepronounwhy, what for?
Quid stās, lapis? Quīn accipis?
Why are you standing there, stupid? Take it!163 BCE, Publius Terentius Afer, Heauton Timorumenos 831 - indefinitenot clause initialpronounusuallyanyone, a person, someone, one; anything, a thing, something
ut si quid etiam de sua salute ab Aeduis iniretur consili
in order that if any concerning his own safety should have been organized by the Aeduic. 52 BCE, Julius Caesar, Commentarii de bello Gallico 7.9Sī quis tamen haec quoque, sī quis captus amōre leget, tē nostrae, Vāre, myrīcae,
If anyone, if anyone reads this captured by love [for these verses], our tamarisks shall sing of you, Varus, and of you every grove shall sing.c. 41 BCE – 39 BCE, Vergilius, Eclogae 6.9–10 - indefinitenot clause initialpronounanyone, a person, someone, one; anything, a thing, something
For quotations using this term, see Citations:quis.
Declension
| form | masculine | feminine | neuter |
|---|---|---|---|
| nominative | quis quī, quei | quae quis, qua | quid |
| genitive | cuius quoius | cuius quoius | cuius quoius |
| dative | cui quoi, quoei, quoiī, quoiei | cui quoi, quoei, quoiī, quoiei | cui quoi, quoei, quoiī, quoiei |
| accusative | quem | quam quem | quid |
| ablative | quō quī | quā quī | quō quī |
| form | masculine | feminine | neuter |
|---|---|---|---|
| nominative | quī quei, quēs | quae quēs | quae qua |
| genitive | quōrum quium | quārum quium | quōrum quium |
| dative | quibus quīs, queis | quibus quīs, queis | quibus quīs, queis |
| accusative | quōs quēs | quās quēs | quae qua |
| ablative | quibus quīs, queis | quibus quīs, queis | quibus quīs, queis |
quis, quid (old
I. nom. plur. QVES, S. C. Bacch.), pron. interrog. [Sanscr. kis, in nakis = nemo; Gr. τίς], who? which? what? what man? (while qui, quae, quod, interrog. is used adject.; for exceptions, v. qui and infra.—Quis is properly used only of more than two; uter, which of two? v. infra).
I. Masc. and fem. quis; lit.,
A. As subst., in a direct question.
1. Of males:
unde es? cujus es? whose are you? to whom do you belong? Plaut. Truc. 2, 7, 44: Da. Quis homo est? Pa. Ego sum Pamphilus, who is there? Ter. And. 5, 6, 1: quis clarior in Graeciā Themistocle? quis potentior? Cic. Lael. 12, 42; id. de Or. 3, 34, 137: quis Dionem doctrinis omnibus expolivit? non Plato? id. ib. 3, 34, 139.—2. Quis, of females, as subst. and adj. (ante- and post-class.): et quis illaec est, quae? etc., Enn. ap. Non. 198, 3 (Trag. v. 133 Vahl.): quis tu es mulier, quae? etc., Pac. ap. Non. 197, 33; cf. Varr. L. L. 6, § 60 Müll.:
quis ea est, quam? etc., who is she? Plaut. Aul. 2, 1, 48: quis haec est? id. Pers. 2, 2, 18: quis illaec est mulier, quae? etc., id. Ep. 4, 1, 6: sed haec quis mulier est? id. Truc. 1, 1, 76: quis nostrarum fuit, Caecil. ap. Gell. 2, 23: quis haec est simia? Afran. ap. Charis. 1, p. 84.— B. As adj.
1. Absol., what? i. e. what sort of a person or thing? quis videor? Cha. Miser aeque atque ego, in what state or condition do I seem? what do you think of me now? Ter. And. 4, 2, 19:
quis ego sum? aut quae in me est facultas? Cic. Lael. 5, 17. — 2. With nouns.
(a). With words denoting a person (class.):
quis eum senator appellavit, Cic. Cat. 2, 6, 12: quis gracilis puer, Hor. C. 1, 5, 1.— (b). In gen. (in Cic. only before a vowel, for qui):
quis color, Verg. G. 2, 178: quisve locus, Liv. 5, 40: quod caedis initium? quis finis? Tac. A. 1, 48: quis esset tantus fructus? Cic. Lael. 6, 22. — II. In neutr.
A. Lit.
1. In simple constr.:
quid dicam de moribus facillimis, Cic. Lael. 3, 11: quid est judicium corrumpere, si hoc non est? what is bribing the court, if this be not? Cic. Verr. 1, 10, 28: quid ais? quid tibi nomen est? Plaut. Am. 1, 1, 208.—2. With gen. partit., what? i. e. what sort of? what kind of a? quid mulieris Uxorem habes? what sort of a woman have you for a wife? Ter. Hec. 4, 4, 21:
quid illuc est hominum secundum litus? what is that knot of people? Plaut. Rud. 1, 2, 60: quid caelati argenti, quid stragulae vestis, quid pictarum tabularum ... apud illum putatis esse? Cic. Rosc. Am. 46, 133; cf. esp.: hoc enim, quis homo sit, ostendere est, non quid homo sit, dicere, i. e. to point out an individual, not to define a class, Gell. 4, 1, 12.— 3. Esp. in phrase quid dico? what do I say? in correcting or strengthening the speaker's own expression:
Romae a. d. XIIII. Kal. volumus esse. Quid dico? Volumus? Immo vero cogimur, Cic. Att. 4, 13, 1; id. Fam. 5, 15, 2; id. Mil. 28, 76; id. de Or. 2, 90, 365; id. Lig. 9, 26.— B. Transf.
1. Quid? how? why? wherefore? quid? tu me hoc tibi mandasse existimas, ut? etc., Cic. Fam. 2, 8, 1:
quid hoc? id. Tusc. 1, 11, 25: quid? eundem nonne destituisti? id. Phil. 2, 38, 99: eloquere, quid venisti? why? wherefore? Plaut. Am. 1, 1, 221: sed quid ego argumentor? quid plura disputo? Cic. Mil. 16, 44. — 2. In quid? wherefore? for what? Sen. Ben. 4, 13, 3. —
3. Quid, with particles:
quid, quod? what shall be said to this, that? how is it that? and furthermore, moreover, Cic. Sen. 23, 83; id. Off. 3, 25, 94; id. Ac. 2, 29, 95 et saep.: quid ita? why so? id. N. D. 1, 35, 99: quid ni, also in one word, quidni? why not? (in rhet. questions, while cur non expects an answer); always with subj., Ter. Heaut. 5, 1, 34; Cic. de Or. 2, 67, 73; Sen. Tranq. 9, 3; id. Ira, 1, 6, 1; cf. separated: quid ego ni teneam? Plaut. Ps. 2, 2, 57; Ter. Ad. 4, 5, 28; and pleonastically: quid ni non, Sen. Ep. 52: quid si? how if? Caecin. ap. Cic. Fam. 6, 7, 4: quid si illud addimus, Cic. Lael. 14, 50: quid tum? what then? how then? id. Tusc. 2, 11, 26; Verg. A. 4, 543; id. E. 10, 38; Hor. S. 2, 3, 230: quid ergo, ironically, Caes. B. G. 7, 77; Cic. Fam. 9, 15, 14: quid enim, id. Fin. 2, 19, 62; Liv. 20, 9.—III. In indirect discourse:
quis sim, ex eo quem ad te misi, cognosces, Sall. C. 44, 5: rogitat quis vir esset, Liv. 1, 7, 9: videbis, quid et quo modo, Cic. Att. 11, 21, 1: quis quem, who ... whom? who ... the other? considera, quis quem fraudasse dicatur, who is said to have defrauded whom? id. Rosc. Com. 7, 21: quos autem numeros cum quibus misceri oporteat, nunc dicendum est, what ... with what? id. Or. 58, 196: notatum in sermone, quid quo modo caderet, Quint. 1, 6, 16. — Quid with gen.: exponam vobis breviter, quid hominis sit, what sort of a man he is, Cic. Verr. 2, 2, 54, § 134: sciturum, quid ejus sit, what there is in it, how much of it may be true, id. Att. 16, 4, 3.— Rarely for uter, which of two, whether: incerti quae pars sequenda esset, Liv. 21, 39, 6: proelia de occupando ponte crebra erant, nec qui potirentur, satis discerni poterat, id. 7, 9, 7: ut dii legerent, qui nomen novae urbi daret, id. 1, 6, 4 Weissenb. ad loc.; id. 1, 24, 3; 9, 45, 8; 10, 12, 5; cf.: validior per Germaniam exercitus, propior aput Pannoniam; quos igitur anteferret? Tac. A. 1, 47.quīs, for quibus, v. quis and qui.
Charlton Lewis's shorter dictionary for students: the same scholarship in plain, modern definitions.
quis quid, pron interrog.
2 CA- (only sing nom. m. and nom. and acc n.; the other forms are common with qui interrog; see 1 qui).—
I. I. Masc., who? which one? what man?.: Da Quis homo est? Pa . Ego sum, who is there? T.: quis clarior in Graeciā Themistocle? quis potentior?: quis primus Ameriam nuntiat?: Quis videor? Cha . miser aeque atque ego, whom do you think me? T.: quis sim, ex eo quem ad te misi, cognosces, S.: considera, quis quem fraudasse dicatur, who is said to have defrauded whom .—With a subst: quis enim dies fuit?: quis eum senator appellavit: Quis gracilis puer, H.: quae robora cuique, Quis color, V.: quisve locus, L.—
II. II. Neut., what, what thing? : quid dieam de moribus facillimis: quid mulieris Uxorem habes? what sort of a woman? T.: quid caelati argenti, quid stragulae vestis, apud illum putatis esse? what amount? : sciturum quid eius sit, what there is in it .—In rhetorical phrases with dico, what do I say? (correcting, strengthening, or emphasizing a remark): Romae volumus esse. Quid dico? Volumus? Immo vero cogimur: quid dicimus?: quid dicas intellegis?
quis qua, quid, pron indef.
2 CA-, any one, anybody, anything, some one, somebody, something (in masc . and neut . usu. as subst.): cum quis non audivit: Simplicior quis, et est, etc., H.: iniuriam cui facere.—With si, ne, num or nisi : ut ne quis cum telo servus esset: ne qua fiat iniuria: ne cui falso adsentiamur: si quid in te peccavi ignosce: si quis quid de re p. rumore acceperit, Cs.: si quo usui esse posset, L.: ne quid nimis, T.: nisi quid inter ipsum . . . conveniret: num quid aliud in iudicium venit?
quīs for quibus,
dat. and abl plur. of quis and qui.
Origins
From Proto-Italic *kʷis, from Proto-Indo-European *kʷís. See there for cognates.
In English words that came into English from quis
- quidquid
- quidamquīdam