quotation

[ kwoh-tey-shuhn ]

noun

1. something that is quoted; a passage quoted from a book, speech, etc.:

   a speech full of quotations from Lincoln's letters.

   Synonyms: selection, citation, extract

2. the act or practice of quoting.
3. Commerce.
   1. the statement of the current or market price of a commodity or security.
   2. the price so stated.

quotation

/ kwəʊˈteɪʃən /

noun

1. a phrase or passage from a book, poem, play, etc, remembered and spoken, esp to illustrate succinctly or support a point or an argument
2. the act or habit of quoting from books, plays, poems, etc
3. commerce a statement of the current market price of a security or commodity
4. an estimate of costs submitted by a contractor to a prospective client; tender
5. stock exchange registration granted to a company or governmental body, enabling the shares and other securities of the company or body to be officially listed and traded
6. printing a large block of type metal that is less than type-high and is used to fill up spaces in type pages

Other Word Forms

• prequo·tation noun
• self-quo·tation noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of quotation¹

1525–35; 1810–15 quotation fordef 3; < Medieval Latin quotātiōn- (stem of quotātiō ), equivalent to quotāt ( us ) (past participle of quotāre; quote ) + -iōn- -ion

Example Sentences

By the 4th century BCE, Athenian orators even quoted lines from the tragedians in court, knowing that jurors “liked quotations from tragedy,” in one scholar’s words.

From Salon

Those who fail to learn from history, as Salon contributor Mike Lofgren said to me recently, are doomed to repeat famous quotations.

From Salon

Present: Grief from murdering her “best friend” aside — quotations used because Natalie barely tolerated her most of the time — Misty’s good!

From Salon

RedNote's Chinese name, Xiaohongshu, translates to Little Red Book, but the app says it is not a reference to Chinese communist leader Mao Zedong's book of quotations with the same name.

From BBC

He refers to them often in conversation: bits of poetry, quotations, scenes from films.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• excerpt
• passage
• quote
• reference