quiet

▪ I. quiet, n.
    (ˈkwaɪət)
    Also 4–6 quyet(e, quiete, 7 quiett.
    [ad. L. quiēt-, stem of quiēs rest, repose, quiet. An AF. quiete may have existed beside quieté quiety.]
    1. Absence of disturbance or tumult; peaceful condition of affairs in social or political life.

13.. Cursor M. 29341 (Cott. Galba), [Cursed] er þai þat..robbes or reues on ani side, Whare pese and quiet suld bityde. c 1375 Sc. Leg. Saints iii. (Andrew) 519 Þe quyet of our lord Ihesu, luk in vnreste ȝe turne nocht now. 1470–85 Malory Arthur xx. xvii, In this realme wyll be now no quyete but euer stryf and debate. 1542–3 Act 34 & 35 Hen. VIII, c. 27 §119 Lawes and ordinaunces for the..good quiet of his saide dominion of Wales. 1651 Hobbes Leviath. iv. xlvi. 380 To whom the care of the Publique quiet is committed. 1763 Burke Corr. (1844) I. 43 Why is not the nation's quiet secured, and its independance asserted? 1874 Bancroft Footpr. Time i. 104 A long period of almost absolute quiet followed the establishment of the empire.

personified. 1590 Spenser F.Q. i. i. 41 Carelesse Quiet lyes, Wrapt in eternall silence farre from enimyes. 1632 Milton Penseroso 45 Join with thee calm Peace, and Quiet, Spare Fast, that oft with gods doth diet. 1754 Gray Pleasure 53 Humble quiet builds her cell.

    b. Absence of noise or (rapid) motion; calmness, stillness.

a 1400 Stockh. Medical MS. ii. 382 in Anglia XVIII. 316 Ageyn cowrs of watyr wyll he flete, Ȝif þe water renne in good quiete. 1602 Marston Antonio's Rev. i. i. Wks. 1856 I. 73 No breath disturbs the quiet of the ayre. 1816 Shelley Alastor 393 A smooth spot Of glassy quiet mid those battling tides Is left. 1867 Smiles Huguenots Eng. iii. (1880) 51 It was only the quiet that preceded the outbreak of another storm.

    2. Freedom from external disturbance, molestation, interruption, or noise; † freedom from work or occupation; rest, repose.

1340 Hampole Pr. Consc. 9128 Whare alle ryghtwyse men salle won at ees, In ioyfulle quyete, and rest, and pese. c 1430 Lydg. Min. Poems (Percy Soc.) 249 Lat me nat reste nor have no quyete, Occupye my soule with spiritual travayl. 1494 Fabyan Chron. vii. ccxxx. 156 This foresayd countesse..with her sonne..was in quyete of theyr countrey and castell. 1592 Greene Conny catching iii. 12 She seeing him laid in bed..commits him to his quiet. 1638 R. Baker tr. Balzac's Lett. (vol. II) 26, I have too much care of my own quiet, to goe about to trouble his. 1749 Fielding Tom Jones viii. xi, An arrant vixen of a wife soured his domestic quiet. 1865 Hook Lives Abps. III. 301 It often happens that a man, turbulent in his youth, will make great sacrifices to procure peace and quiet in his old age.

pl. 1650 Weldon Crt. Jas. I, 185 More beneficiall to the Subjects in respect of their quiets.

    b. Freedom from mental agitation or excitement; calm or peace of mind.

a 1628 Preston New Covt. (1634) 421 As wondrous quiet and peaceableness, and calmness in the heart. 1688 Lady R. Russell Lett. I. lxxi. 156 Such letters as yours, Sir, do not disturb my quiet. 1726 Swift Corr. Wks. 1841 II. 586 An accident that must be so fatal to my quiet. 1840 Lady C. Bury Hist. of Flirt vi, A matter that concerns my quiet.

    3. The condition of remaining quiet, of refraining from disturbance, hurry, exertion, etc.

1559 Mirr. Mag., Henry VI, vii, My mynde to quyet bent, had not bene tossed so. c 1586 C'tess Pembroke Ps. cxxxi, None more [than me] for quiet might compare Ev'n with the babe. 1604 E. G[rimstone] D'Acosta's Hist. Indies v. v. 343 That God was a great Lord, who with great quiet and leasure performeth his workes. 1750 Johnson Rambler No. 74 ¶12 Knowledge and genius are often enemies to quiet, by suggesting ideas of excellence. 1889 Pater G. de Latour (1896) 41 How becomingly..that self-respecting quiet sat upon their high-bred figures.

    4. Freq. in phrases at quiet, † in quiet, and † out of quiet, with vbs. of being, remaining, maintaining, etc.

1377 Langl. P. Pl. B. i. 121 God..garte the heuene to stekye and stonden in quiete. c 1450 tr. De Imitatione ii. vi. 46 An evel conscience is euer dredful and oute of quiete. 1533 Frith Another Bk. agst. Rastell Prol. (1573) 61 They could neuer be at quiet..untill they had dronken his bloud. 1577 Test. XII Patriarchs (1604) 101 Bear your losses willingly, and be not out of quiet for it. 1699 Burnet 39 Art. i. (1700) 21 Every part of it is at quiet till it is put in motion. 1771 Jefferson Writ. (ed. Ford) II. 129 Matters..are too much in quiet to send you news from hence. 1830 Scott Demonol. viii. 266 The country remained at quiet. 1886 Stevenson Dr. Jekyll 54 Mr. Utterson began..to grow more at quiet with himself.

    † b. With adjs., esp. at (a) good (or better) quiet.

c 1470 Henry Wallace viii. 587 The ost he maid in gud quyet to be. 1603 Knolles Hist. Turks (1638) 62 The other Christian Princes also being at no better quiet. 1652 Sir C. Cotterell Cassandra iv. (1676) 68 He began to be at a little better quiet. 1663 Pepys Diary 30 June, My differences with my uncle Thomas at a good quiett, blessed be God!

▪ II. quiet, a.
    (ˈkwaɪət)
    Forms: 4–7 quyet, (4–6 -te, 6 -tt), 5 quiete, 6 quyat, quyit, queat, 8 Sc. quait, 6– quiet.
    [a. OF. quiete or ad. L. quiētus, pa. pple. to quiēscĕre to come to rest, f. root of quiēs rest, quiet n. The popular Fr. form coi is represented by coy a.]
    I. 1. a. Of persons (or animals): Making no stir, commotion, or noise; causing no trouble or disturbance; remaining at rest; not moving or acting.

1382 Wyclif 1 Thess. iv. 11 We preyen ȝou..that ȝe be quyet, and do ȝoure nede. 1560 J. Daus tr. Sleidane's Comm. 277 b, Obteyne of the Clergie, that they wyll be quiet, tyll suche tyme as the other States may declare [etc.]. 1586 Warner Alb. Eng. i. vi. (1612) 24 Lycus..did cast his haughtie armes abroad, as who would say, be queat. 1715 Ramsay Christ's Kirk Gr. ii. vi, Let gae my hands, I say, be quait. 1738 Swift Polite Conv. Wks. 1883 IX. 403, I wish you would be quiet, you have more tricks than a dancing bear. 1837 Mrs. Sherwood Henry Milner iii. iii. 44 The young men began to call to them crying, ‘Whisht, whisht, what ails the curs?—quiet there, Viper’. 1843 Miall in Nonconf. III. 635 Rebecca's rights once obtained we will be as quiet as mice.

    b. (Also of nature or disposition.) Habitually or naturally peaceful or averse to making stir, noise, etc. Of an animal: Gentle. Also phr. quiet American: freq. used ironically, as of an undercover agent or spy.

1432–50 tr. Higden (Rolls) II. 167 The peple of the sowthe is meke and quiete. 1535 Coverdale 1 Chron. xxii[i]. 9 The sonne which shal be borne vnto the, shal be a quyete man. 1609 Bible (Douay) Mic. iv. comm., Quiet patient people..suffering persecution with alacritie of minde. 1669 Clarendon Ess. Tracts (1727) 148 Quiet and easy natures are like fair weather. a 1720 Sewel Hist. Quakers (1795) I. Pref. 18 They always were quiet and never made any resistance. 1811 Sporting Mag. XXXVIII. 212 The defendant did not put the question..whether it were a quiet horse? 1840 Dickens Barn. Rudge vi, Barnaby is not in his quietest humour to-night. 1863 Q. Rev. July 262 It is a great relief to quiet people when the Easter ceremonies are wound up. 1955 G. Greene (title) The quiet American. 1963 Listener 10 Jan. 96/3 She has much data on these delightful grasshopper people, though a certain ‘Quiet American’ ingenuousness is difficult to digest. 1963 Times 23 Feb. 4/5 Mr. H. F. Johnson..is a model quiet American. 1973 Times 11 Jan 10/6 There never was much ‘reality’ about Washington's presence in Vietnam from the moment when the first quiet Americans moved in. 1980 J. McNeil Spy Game ix. 99 I've heard of you..The Quiet American, no less.

    † c. Sc. in specific senses: Acting or living quietly; remaining hid or secret; fast asleep. Obs.

1533 Gau Richt Vay 17 Thay that ar quiet and fals flatterers. 1536 Bellenden Cron. Scot. x. vii, Traistyng..sum quiet personis liand ay in wait to inuaid hym. 1632 Lithgow Trav. x. 444, I could not beleeue, that the Patrone of so great a Monarchy, could be so quiet; yea, as quiet as a Countrey Baron is with vs. 1651 Weldon Crt. Jas. I, 107 Loveston replies, He is quiet (which in the Scotish dialect is fast asleep).

    2. a. Of things: Not active; not moving or stirring; also, making no noise; still.
    quiet disease, latent hip-joint disease in children (Syd. Soc. Lex. 1897). † quiet letter, a quiescent letter.

1599 Shakes. Hen. V, iii. ii. 36 For Pistoll, hee hath a killing Tongue, and a quiet Sword. 1658 P. Goodwin Myst. Dreams in Spurgeon Treas. Dav. Ps. cxxvii. 2 The Hebrew word..being with aleph, a quiet or resting letter. 1798 Wordsw. Tintern Abbey 47 An eye made quiet by the power Of harmony. 1816 Scott Antiq. iii, The dust was very ancient, peaceful, quiet dust about an hour ago. a 1889 Eliza Cook Poems (Rtldg.) 51, I prize the soul That slumbers in a quiet eye. 1898 J. Hutchinson in Arch. Surg. IX. 330 Doubts might have been felt as to whether the induration was really malignant. It was quite quiet.

    b. Free from excess; not going to extremes; moderate, gentle; esp. of colour, dress, style, etc.: Not obtrusive, glaring or showy.

1560 J. Daus tr. Sleidane's Comm. 261 b, That for the appeasing of religion, they would use lawfull and quiet remedies. 1634 Sir T. Herbert Trav. 5 Now you shall have a quiet breath and gale, and suddenly an unexpected violent gust. 1685 Dryden Horace, Odes iii. xxix. 54 The tide of bus'ness..Is sometimes high, and sometimes low, A quiet ebb, or a tempestuous flow. 1768 Sterne Sent. Journ. (1778) I. 63 (Remise Door), I made them a quiet bow, and wished them a good passage to Dover. 1838 Lytton Alice 21 A woman of quiet and pleasing exterior. 1853 C. Brontë Villette I. xiv. 257 Her dress was almost as quiet as mine. 1856 Ruskin Mod. Paint. III. iv. App. 346 The beautiful quiet English of Helps. 1885 R. L. & F. Stevenson Dynamiter 185 He was conscious of a certain regular and quiet sound. 1889 Catholic News 15 June 8/6 There was a quiet trade in pigs. 1895 G. B. Shaw in Sat. Rev. 28 Sept. 409/1 He associates low tones (‘quiet colors’ they call them in Marshall & Snellgrove's) with dignity and decency. 1957 Observer 28 July 5/6 Both Hardy Amies and Victor Stiebel are masters of the art of inserting contrasting lines which define the figure in the quietest way. 1977 Spare Rib May 15/1 Quiet shades of blue, brown and grey were almost de rigueur.

    c. Avoiding or escaping notice; private, secret, underhand. (In older use only Sc.)

a 1578 Lindesay (Pitscottie) Chron. Scot. (S.T.S.) I. 87 He..send quyit messagis to his freindis. a 1600 Montgomerie Misc. Poems xviii. 65 Thair companie [it] wes not quyet, Bot or they wist they wer beuryde. 1609 Skene Reg. Maj. 52 (Acts Robt. III, c. 2) The kings lieges, are trubled in their lands, be volunter and quyet recognitions, made be the overlords. 1899 Westm. Gaz. 29 Dec. 8/2 ‘Quiet cases’ meaning the insurance of lives without the knowledge of the persons so insured.

    d. Of the sun: marked by an absence of all transient and localized emission of radio waves such as accompanies sunspots. Of other celestial objects: = radio-quiet adj. s.v. radio n. 7. Also, in Geophysics, marked by no local fluctuations of magnetism.

1946 Nature 2 Nov. 632/2 Edlén's recent work..shows that the coronal matter is normally at a temperature approaching 106 degrees. We should therefore expect to find black-body radiation of about 1 metre wave-length having a normal (quiet sun) intensity corresponding nearly to T = 106. 1961 I.U.G.G. Chron. No. 34. 6 To December 1963 (i.e. approximately up to the commencement of the proposed International Year of the Quiet Sun). 1962 Nature 24 Mar. 1145/1 During magnetically quiet days. 1963 Daily Tel. 18 Mar. 19 (heading) 60 nations will seek ‘quiet sun’ secrets. 1966 Sci. Amer. Nov. 54/1 At the beginning of each [sunspot] cycle the surface of the sun is quiet, disturbed only by the ‘granulation’ effect. 1974 Nature 13 Sept. 129/1 The seamount possesses a strong magnetic signature..in marked contrast to the main part of the Rockall Trough which is magnetically quiet. 1977 Sci. Amer. Aug. 32/1 A number of giant elliptical galaxies radiate prodigiously at radio wavelengths, where stars and normal galaxies are quiet.

    II. 3. Free from disturbance, molestation, or annoyance; not interfered or meddled with; left in peace. a. of a state, condition, procedure, etc. Phr. anything for a quiet life: see life n. 3 c.

1382 Wyclif 1 Tim. ii. 2 That we lede quyet and pesyble lyf. c 1450 St. Cuthbert (Surtees) 3720 In quiete prayers he contenued. c 1532 G. Du Wes Introd. Fr. in Palsgr. 921 A quyete slepe is right necessary and delycious. 1560 J. Daus tr. Sleidane's Comm. 94 b, If they maye have their Religion quiet untill the counsell, they are also contented to become contributaries. 1601 R. Johnson Kingd. & Commw. (1603) 96 They sent..to Cæsar, to intreat a quiet passage through the Romana province. 1642 Fuller Holy & Prof. St. (1648) 18 Though prayer purchaseth blessings, giving praise doth keep quiet possession of them. 1766 Blackstone Comm. II. 304 The grantor may covenant..for the grantee's quiet enjoyment.

    † b. of a person, people, or country. Also const. from. Obs.

1558 Goodman How to Obey 175 Hauing your Realme free from strangers, and quiete from all enimies. 1599 Shakes. Much Ado ii. i. 266 While she is heere, a man may liue as quiet in hell, as in a sanctuary. 1611 Bible Job iii. 26, I was not in safetie, neither had I rest, neither was I quiet. 1655 Fuller Ch. Hist. ii. iii. §26 That the abbot should be quiet from the bishop's right. 1671 Milton P.R. iii. 360 Long to enjoy it quiet and secure.

    † c. Quit, clear. Obs. rare^—1.

1473–4 in Swayne Sarum Church-w. Acc. (1896) 16, Iiijs. vijd. the which ben forgeven them..and so they ben quyete.

    d. quiet number, an easy job (cf. number n. 6 f (iii)). Naut. slang.

1948 Partridge Dict. Forces' Slang 1939–1945 129 Number, quiet, an easy job at sea or ashore. 1977 Navy News July 18 (caption) ‘Got a nice quiet number for you after the Review,’ he says... ‘Just scoop up any odd little bit of gash,’ he says.

    4. a. Characterized by the absence of all strife, bustle, stir, or commotion; also, free from noise or uproar, silent, still. quiet-room, (a) a room set aside for quiet activities; (b) a room especially designed so as not to transmit any noise made within it, usu. in a mental institution.

1514 Barclay Cyt. & Uplondyshm. (Percy Soc.) 11 Than..Wedlocke was quyet & pleasaunt without stryfe. 1596 Shakes. 1 Hen. IV, v. i. 25, I could be well content To entertaine the Lagge-end of my life With quiet houres. 1611 Bible Wisd. xviii. 14 While all things were in quiet silence. 1655 Fuller Ch. Hist. iii. xii. §27 He chose a quiet county before a cumbersome kingdom. 1791 Mrs. Radcliffe Rom. Forest x, In the second chamber all was quiet and in order. 1831–3 E. Burton Eccl. Hist. i. (1845) 9 If the state of things might be described as at all quiet. 1856 Kane Arctic Explor. II. xxiv. 204 We gave two quiet hours to the memory of our dead brother. 1872 Ruskin Eagle's Nest §179 My hope..that the streams of the Isis and Cherwell will be kept pure and quiet. 1938 [see pad n.3 1 c]. 1968 M. Torrie Your Secret Friend i. 15 The Sixth have the boudoir as their ‘quiet’ room and the bedroom is now the staff common-room. 1976 [see padded ppl. a.2]. 1977 C. H. Jaques Dragon Century 1877–1977 xxi. 241 A complete re-organisation..with..the Doctor's surgery and consulting room taking over the Quiet Room, while the old Dining area is divided up into new Quiet Room, Headmaster's study and Secretary's office. 1977 Spare Rib Jan. 15/2 The second half of the day passes so quickly and imperceptibly that at first I don't grasp why it's suddenly got so noisy in our ‘quiet’ room.

    b. Remote from scenes of activity; retired.

1500–20 Dunbar Poems (S.T.S.) xliii. 33 In quyet place,..They can, percaice, Purchess some grace. a 1578 Lindesay (Pitscottie) Chron. Scot. (S.T.S.) I. 187 They..past to the wall heid at ane quyit place quhair the watches might haue no sight of them. 1738 Gray Propertius iii. 105 Then to my quiet Urn awhile draw near. 1861 H. Kingsley Ravenshoe xxxvii, As soon as he and Lady Ascot were seated on a quiet sofa.

    c. Partaken of, or enjoyed, in quiet.

1837 Dickens Pickw. xxvi, To have a quiet cup of tea. 1891 [see think n. 1]. 1892 Anstey Voces Pop. Ser. ii. 85 A cup of coffee, and a quiet cigar. 1905 Chesterton Heretics xiv. 181 A place where a man can have what is somewhat fantastically called a quiet chop. 1953 R. Usborne Clubland Heroes ii. 99 An off-day for a good Buchan type was: a cold bath or plunge, a big breakfast, a quiet pipe, and then off to the hills in filthy tweeds. 1963 E. Summers Where No Roads Go v. 72 I'll go out on the verandah for a quiet smoke. 1977 Private Eye 1 Apr. 23/3 (Advt.), A quiet word about hair transplants. 1977 Zigzag Apr. 28/1, I can just see the nice young couples out for a quiet Sunday drink.

    d. Of a period of time: spent in seclusion for the purposes of prayer, meditation, etc.; quiet time: a daily session of private Bible study or prayer.

1884 Lichfield Diocesan Mag. Jan. 10 A Quiet day, to which all the clergy and lay readers of the archdeaconry were invited, was held at Stoke, on Tuesday Dec. 18th. 1896 C. T. Studd Let. in N. P. Grubb C. T. Studd (1933) xi. 106, I have had such a good day to-day, early up and a quiet time for most of the day and the Lord has been opening up the Word. 1934 R. Macaulay Going Abroad xxx. 263 That must have been about the same time I was having my quiet time. 1935 Methodist Recorder 1 Aug. 5/4 A large number of ministers assembled..for the ‘Quiet Day’. 1945 [see sharing vbl. n.2 2]. 1957 J. R. W. Stott Being a Christian 23 What many people call the daily ‘quiet times’, first thing in the morning and last thing at night. 1960 I. Kuhn In Arena iii. 35 Some students were trying to let classwork reading [of the Bible] do for personal quiet time. Ibid. 36 Letting the day's business occupy the central place and trying to fix a quiet time with the Lord somewhere shoved into the odd corner. 1967 M. Griffiths Take my Life iii. 61 Maintaining a regular ‘Quiet Time’ unhurriedly in the Lord's presence, reading the Bible, hearing His word and responding in prayer from the heart, becomes harder. 1973 Franciscan XV. 169 A quiet afternoon during the Pentecost season was conducted by the Dean of Worcester.

    5. Of the mind, conscience, etc.: Not troubled or distressed; free from agitation or excitement. So also of persons in respect of the mind, etc.

1535 Coverdale Prov. xv. 15 A quyete herte is as a contynuall feast. 1552 Bk. Com. Prayer Commun., With a quiet conscience. 1558 Goodman How to Obey 230 That you cannot be quiete in conscience. 1593 Shakes. Rich. II, i. iii. 96 Truth hath a quiet breast. 1631 Gouge God's Arrows i. §5. 8 The bond of a Creditor, so lies on the debter, that he is not quiet till it be discharged.

    † 6. Sheltered from the wind. Obs. rare.

1596 Dalrymple tr. Leslie's Hist. Scot. I. 30 In the scoug of the craig and castell is a verie quyet hauining place. 1697 Dryden Virg. Georg. iv. 10 For thy Bees a quiet Station find, And lodge 'em under Covert of the Wind.

    III. † 7. Used as adv. = quietly. Obs. rare^—1.

1573 Tusser Husb. (1878) 63 More profit is quieter found (where pastures in several bee).

    8. quasi-n., in phr. on the quiet, privately, in secret. (Abbrev. q.t.: see Q II. 2.) slang or colloq.

1862 Otago: Goldfields & Resources 35 Unless men can work [the gold] on ‘the quiet’, they are not likely to make ‘piles’ so rapidly as Messrs. Hartley and Riley. 1863 Hotten Dict. Slang (ed. 2) s.v., ‘On the quiet’, clandestinely, so as to avoid observation, ‘under the rose’. 1873 ‘Mark Twain’ Gilded Age xi. 112 The other day he let me into a little secret, strictly on the quiet. 1881 Punch 8 Jan. 4/1 I'd just like to have a bit of chinwag with you on the quiet about the..troubles of a Cabby. 1889 H. O'Reilly 50 Yrs. on Trail 7 Having on the quiet found out a passenger steamboat. 1903 A. H. Lewis Boss 59 They've put out a lot of money on the quiet among my own people. 1967 N. Freeling Strike out where not Applicable 36 She has a good act of letting Francis rule the roost, but on the quiet I think she makes the decisions.

    9. Comb., as quiet-eyed, quiet-footed, quiet-mannered, quiet-minded, quiet-spoken, quiet-tempered, quiet-tinted, quiet-toned, quiet-voiced, quiet-walled; quiet-going, quiet-living, quiet-looking, quiet-moving, quiet-seeming, quiet-smiling, adjs.

1895 W. B. Yeats Poems 197 The Druid, gray, woodnurtured, quiet-eyed. 1956 R. Finlayson in Landfall (N.Z.) X. 12 A handsome..Jersey, sleek and quiet eyed.

1954 J. R. R. Tolkien Fellowship of Ring i. ii. 62 Long after, but still very long ago, there lived by the banks of the Great River on the edge of Wilderland a clever-handed and quiet-footed little people.

1886 H. F. Lester Under two Fig Trees 59 The exciting incidents which now and then ruffle the life of even the most quiet-going family.

1888 Bryce Amer. Commw. II. ii. xlii. 119 A larger sum than a quiet-living man can need.

1825 J. Neal Jonathan II. 194 An old, stately, quiet-looking negro.

1780 S. J. Pratt Emma Corbett (ed. 4) I. 107, I can..impress the quiet-seeming sentiment.

1952 R. Campbell tr. Baudelaire's Poems 84 An huntress born, sure-eyed, and quiet-smiling.

1848 Dickens Dombey iv, He was a slow, quiet-spoken..old fellow.

Ibid. iii, She was a quiet-tempered lady.

1909 Westm. Gaz. 14 Sept. 1/2 It included the following: Shirts, 72;..socks of quiet-tinted silk, 2 dozen; hats, evening suits, smoking coats. 1965 Times Lit. Suppl. 25 Nov. 1049/4 A quiet-toned, carefully tender book.

1940 T. S. Eliot East Coker ii. 9 Had they deceived us Or deceived themselves, the quiet-voiced elders. 1974 P. Gore-Booth With Great Truth & Respect 394 What disturbed me immensely was their quiet-voiced extremism.

1865 G. M. Hopkins Poems (1967) 34 Those charms accepted of my inmost thought The towers musical, quiet-walled grove.

    
    

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     Sense 2 d in Dict. becomes 2 e. Add: [2.] d. Stock Exchange. Of a commodity: displaying little fluctuation in price.

1932 Daily Tel. 8 Oct. 4/2 Oats quiet of sale... Miller's wheatfeed quiet. 1985 Times 6 Aug. 20/6 Softs were quiet, except for coffee, which weakened again.

▪ III. quiet, v.
    (ˈkwaɪət)
    Also 6 quyet.
    [ad. med.L. quiētāre, f. L. quiētus quiet a.]
    † 1. trans. To quit, acquit (oneself or another).

c 1440 Generydes 2861 Eche of hem iij so wele quiete them ther. 1472–3 Rolls Parlt. VI. 50/1 That your said suppliaunt.. be discharged, relesed and quieted, of almaner..fynes, paynes [etc.].

    2. To make quiet (in various senses); to reduce to quietness: a. a person or people, a material thing, etc.

1550 Crowley Way to Wealth 269 Quiet thy selfe therfore, and striue not againste the streame. 1599 Shakes. Hen. V, v. i. 54 Quiet thy Cudgell, thou dost see I eate. 1609 Holland Amm. Marcell. 109 Those savage nations whom he had quieted. 1665 Manley Grotius' Low-C. Warres 520 A very difficult piece of Work..to quiet all the right side of the Rhine. 1786 F. Burney Diary 8 Nov., I did what was possible to quiet her, but to no purpose. 1855 Macaulay Hist. Eng. xii. III. 211 In trying to quiet one set of malecontents, he had created another. 1866 G. Macdonald Ann. Q. Neighb. vi. (1878) 73 She knew she had no chance of quieting the girl.

    b. a feeling or emotion, esp. of fear.

1526 Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 2 b, His naturall inclinacyon and appetyte can neuer be sacyate, contented and quieted. 1552 Bk. Com. Prayer Commun., If there be any of you which..cannot quiet his own conscience. 1748 Anson's Voy. ii. xi. 253 This quieted our apprehensions for some days. 1855 Macaulay Hist. Eng. xi. III. 32 The event quieted the fears of one party. 1888 Bryce Amer. Commw. III. lxxxviii. 190 In order to quiet these suspicions the comptroller played a very bold game.

    c. a disturbance, dissension, etc.

1560 J. Daus tr. Sleidane's Comm. 174 The byshop wyl sende thether..to quiet the controversy. 1601 J. Wheeler Treat. Comm. 33 Till the said King Edward had quieted the troubles with his subiects at home. 1674 Essex Papers (Camden) I. 193 Some companys of y⊇ Guard being comanded together to quiet y⊇ Tumult. 1792 Burke Let. to R. Burke Corr. IV. 4 Measures which may quiet the unhappy divisions of the country. 1846 Trench Mirac. iv. (1862) 147 Quieting with a word the tempest in their bosoms. 1875 Jowett Plato (ed. 2) V. 360 The motion..quiets the restless palpitation of the heart.

    d. Electronics. To reduce automatically the gain of (a radio receiver) in the absence of a usable signal; = squelch v.

1950 J. K. Henney Radio Engin. Handbk. (ed. 4) xvii. 821 The purpose of these circuits is to squelch or quiet the receiver when sufficient signal for satisfactory reception is not present. 1960 Cooke & Markus Electronics & Nucleonics Dict. 453/2 Squelch, to quiet a receiver automatically by reducing its gain in response to a specified characteristic of the input.

    3. To settle or establish in quiet. Chiefly Law.

c 1586 C'tess Pembroke Ps. lxxxii. iii, You should unto the weake extend Your hand, to loose and quiet his estate. 1654 G. Goddard Introd. Burton's Diary (1828) I. 190 A Bill for quieting the possession of the government. 1668 Ormonde MSS. in 10th Rep. Hist. MSS. Comm. App. V. 69 Your petitioner..made surrender of his estate unto the Crowne so soone as he was quieted in the possession thereof. 1884 Sir J. Bacon in Law Rep. 27 Chanc. Div. 47 The Plaintiffs are entitled..to be quieted in the possession they have had for so many years.

    4. intr. To become quiet. Also to quiet down. Now chiefly N. Amer.

1791 Paine Rights of Man (ed. 4) 27 The mind can hardly..conceive the possibility of its quieting so soon. 1851 Mayne Reid Scalp Hunt. xxxii. 247, I have never seen buffaloes ‘quieting’ down before. 1865 Mrs. Whitney Gayworthys II. 237 By and by she quieted, and, from pure exhaustion, fell asleep. 1897 A. Beardsley Let. 17 Mar. (1970) 279 There has been no return of haemorrhage. The lung too is quieting down. 1914 G. B. Shaw Misalliance 85 You would then be charged and imprisoned until things quieted down. Ibid. 93 Let us postpone the discussion. Wait until Monday: we shall have Sunday to quiet down in. 1916 Daily Colonist (Victoria, B.C.) 30 July 7/4 The trade had quieted down somewhat lately and some mills have lacked an adequate supply of logs. 1944 New Yorker 25 Mar. 84/2 Moved back into London when things quieted down. 1974 Sci. Amer. July 47/2 The effect of the drugs is often dramatic, with the children quieting down, paying attention to their schoolwork and in some cases doing better in school.

    Hence ˈquieted ppl. a.

1894 E. F. Benson Dodo 185 The darkened house, the quieted movements.

Oxford English Dictionary