# quam
## Latin
### Pronunciation

* (Classical Latin) IPA: /kʷam/, [kʷä̃ˑ]
* (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA: /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."

#### Alternative forms

* quamde, quande

#### Adverb

quam
* (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 inferantHe 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 pervagenturthat 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 itineribusby as long journeys as he can
** c. 52 BCE, Julius Caesar, Commentarii de Bello Gallico VII.11:Ipse, ut quam primum iter faceretHe himself, with the intention of marching as soon as possible
* (in comparisons) as
    Tam similis est, quam potest.It is as similar as it can be.
* (after comparative adjectives and adverbs) than
    alius quam ― different than
    ante quam (+ subjunctive or infinitive) ― sooner than
    aliter quam vis ― 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 putāramYou 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 possetand 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 acceptaHowever 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 eaBut 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.
* (rare) rather than
** 27 BCE – 25 BCE, Titus Livius, Ab Urbe Condita I.35:Romae se quam in vetere patria vixissehe 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 | demonstrative | demonstrative | anaphoric | identity | interrogative/ relative | indefinite | indefinite | indefinite | indefinite | indefinite | negative | other |
| type | proximal | medial | distal | anaphoric | identity | interrogative/ relative | relative | indefinite | free choice | universal | negative polarity | negative | other |
| 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 ||||||||||||||

##### Descendants

* French: que (“than, as”)
* Italian: ca (“than, that”)
* Neapolitan: ca (“than, that”)
* Old Galician-Portuguese: quan; ca
** Galician: can (“how”); ca (“than”)
** Portuguese: quão (“how, as”); ca (“than”) (northern)
* Romanian: ca (“than, as”)
* Romansch: ca (“than”)
* Sicilian: ca (“than, that”)
* 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 (2025 January 27 (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)
* ↑ Palmer, L.R. (1906) The Latin Language, London, Faber and Faber, p. 337

### Etymology 2

See quī (relative pronoun and interrogative adjective).

#### Pronoun

quam
* accusative singular feminine of quī

#### Adjective

quam
* accusative singular feminine of quī

### Etymology 3

See quis (pronoun).

#### Pronoun

quam
* accusative singular feminine of quis

## Middle Dutch
### Verb

quam
* first/third-person singular past indicative of cōmen

## Middle English
### Pronoun

quam
* (Northern) Alternative form of whom (“who, whom”, accusative)