Quota
/ˈkwoʊtə/noun
A fixed share or proportion assigned to someone or something.
Did you know?Quota comes from Latin quota, the feminine form of quotus, meaning “what number?”—so the word began as a question, not a command.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*kwo-
“Interrogative root meaning “who? what?””
Latin
Latin
quot
“How many; as many as”
Latin
Latin
quotus
“What number? which in order?”
Medieval Latin
Latin
quota
“A fixed proportion or share”
Late Middle English
English
quota
“A proportional assignment or assigned share”
Modern English
English
quota
“A fixed limit or required share”