LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
adverb

quō

quō (not comparable)
Classical[ˈkʷoː]Ecclesiastical[ˈkʷɔː]
№ 305 of the 1,000 commonest wordsMille Verba core vocabulary

Meaning

  1. interrogativenot comparablewhither, whereto, where
    Quō vādis, Domine?Where are you going, Lord?
    ex quo sui potens fueritas soon as (since when) he was the master of himself27 BCE – 25 BCE, Titus Livius, Ab urbe condita I.35
  2. interrogativenot comparablerelativeto or in which place, whither, where
  3. not comparableto what end, for what purpose, wherefore, why
  4. not comparablereplaces ut when there is a comparative in the subordinate clause of purpose: to the end that, in order that, so that, that
    Multum currit, quō validior fīat.He runs a lot to become healthier.
    Quo expeditiore re frumentaria utereturin order that he might make use of the looser supplies of provisions

Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers

quod signum eius erat
which insignia he used to wear
quō īnsignī ūtī cōnsuērat — in De Bello Gallico III, ch. 21

quō, adv. prop. dat. or abl. of qui.
I. Where (rare but class.): respondit, se nescire, quo loci esset, Cic. Att. 8, 10: quo loci illa nasceretur, id. Div. 2, 66, 135: mitte sectari rosa quo locorum Sera moretur, Hor. C. 1, 38, 3.—
B. Trop.
1. For which reason, wherefore, whence: miscella (uva) multo ante coquitur: quo prior legenda, Varr. R. R. 1, 54: anseres voraces sunt naturā: quo temperandum iis, id. ib. 3, 10, 5: quo aequior sum Pamphilo, Si, etc., Ter. And. 2, 5, 18; Cic. de Or. 2, 6, 25: quo magis hoc philosopho faciendum est, id. Fin. 3, 2, 4; id. Lael. 23, 86: quo factum est, ut, etc., Nep. Milt. 7, 4; id. Them. 3, 4.—
2. For the reason that, because: non edepol quo te impudicam crederem, Plaut. Am. 3, 2, 32: quod scribis, non quo ipse audieris, sed te ipsum putare, me, Cic. Att. 10, 1, 3: non quo libenter male audiam, sed quia, etc., id. de Or. 2, 75, 305: non eo dico, quo mihi veniat in dubium, id. Quint. 2, 5: neque eo nunc dico, quo quidquam illum senserim, Ter. Heaut. 3, 2, 43: non pol, quo quemquam plus amem, Eo feci, sed, id. Eun. 1, 2, 16.—
II. To or in which place, whither, where (rel. and interrog): dolia, quo vinaceos condat, Cato, R. R. 10, 2: quo, quo, scelesti, ruitis? Hor. Epod. 7, 1: locus, quo exercitui aditus non erat, Caes. B. G. 2, 16: non longius hostes aberant, quam quo telum adici potest, id. ib. 2, 21; Cic. Fam. 3, 5, 3.— Of persons, to whom: dabo parasitum inanem, quo recondas reliquias, Plaut. Stich. 1, 3, 79: quo illae nubent? id. Aul. 3, 5, 13: quo lubeat, nubant, id. ib.: hominem beatum, quo illae pervenibunt divitiae! Pompon. ap. Non. 508, 6: homo apud eos, quo se contulit, gratiosus, Cic. Verr. 2, 4, 18, § 38.—With gen.: quo gentium, where in the world, Plaut. Bacch. 4, 7, 33; id. Rud. 3, 5, 44: quo terrarum, Liv. 39, 54, 8; cf.: ne hodie quidem scire videmini, quo amentiae progressi sitis, how far, to what pitch, id. 28, 27.—
B. Trop., to what end, for what purpose, wherefore, why: quid hoc homine facias? aut quo civem importunum, aut quo potius hostem tam sceleratum reserves? Cic. Sest. 13, 29: quo tantam pecuniam? Cic. Verr. 2, 2, 55, § 137: dixit profecto, quo vellet aurum, id. Cael. 21, 53: nescis, quo valeat nummus? quem praebeat usum? what money is good for, Hor. S. 1, 1, 73: quo mihi fortunam, si non conceditur uti? id. Ep. 1, 5, 12; Cic. Fam 7, 23, 2; Ov. Am. 3, 4, 41.—
2. Transf., to the end that, in order that, so that, that: quo deteriores anteponantur bonis, Plaut. Poen. prol. 38; Ter. And. 3, 1, 14: id adjuta me, quo id flat facilius, id. Eun. 1, 2, 70: quo mare finiat iram, Ov. H. 18, 203: fraus mea quid petiit, nisi quo tibi jungerer uni? id. ib. 20, 23: hi omnes Athenas se contulerunt, non quo sequerentur otium, Nep. Pelop. 2, 1: quo ne, = ut ne: sed eo vidisti multum, quod praefinisti, quo ne pluris emerem, Cic. Fam. 7, 2, 1: cautum erat, quo ne plus auri et argenti facti, quo ne plus signati argenti et aeris domi haberemus, Liv. 34, 9.—
III. Indef., with si, etc., to any place, anywhither: si quo tu me ire vis, Plaut. Aul. 2, 4, 5: si quando Romam aliove quo mitterent legatos, Liv. 38, 30: si quo erat longius prodeundum, Caes. B. G. 2, 48; Cic. Att. 8, 3, 7.

Origins

  1. Proto-Indo-European*kʷ-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*kʷos
  3. Proto-Italic*kʷoi
  4. Latinquō

Latin quī Latin quo Adverb declined from quī. See also the same meanings in ubī.

Quick answers

What does quō mean in Latin?
quō, a adverb, means “whither, whereto, where; to or in which place, whither, where; to what end, for what purpose, wherefore, why”.
How do you pronounce quō?
In classical Latin, [ˈkʷoː]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [ˈkʷɔː].
Where does quō come from?
Proto-Indo-European *kʷ- → Proto-Indo-European *kʷos → Proto-Italic *kʷoi → Latin quō.