Quietus
/kwaɪˈiːtəs/noun
A final settlement or discharge of a debt, obligation, or account; also, death or something that ends a burden.
Did you know?In medieval Latin, quietus could mean being “quit” or freed from a debt, and English later sharpened that into the eerie sense of a final ending — the same linguistic root behind modern words like quiet and quite.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*kʷey-
“to rest, be quiet, be at peace”
Latin
Latin
quietus
“at rest, peaceful, free from disturbance”
Medieval Latin
Latin
quietus
“discharged, settled, released from obligation”
14th Century
Middle English
quiete / quietus
“release from a debt or obligation; a settling of accounts”
16th Century
English
quietus
“final discharge, ending, or death”