quoth

[ kwohth ]

verb

, Archaic.

1. said (used with nouns, and with first- and third-person pronouns, and always placed before the subject):

   Quoth the raven, “Nevermore.”

quoth

/ kwəʊθ /

verb

1. archaic.
   used with all pronouns exceptthou and you, and with nouns another word for said 1

Word History and Origins

Origin of quoth¹

First recorded in 1150–1200; preterit of quethe (otherwise obsolete), Middle English quethen, Old English cwethan “to say.” bequeath

Word History and Origins

Origin of quoth¹

Old English cwæth, third person singular of cwethan to say; related to Old Frisian quetha to say, Old Saxon, Old High German quethan; see bequeath

Example Sentences

“Nameless here for evermore. . . Darkness there and nothing more. . . Merely this and nothing more. . . Quoth the Raven ‘Nevermore.’”

From Salon

“I don’t know what Congressman Clyde said,” quoth McCarthy, and “I didn’t see it.”

From Washington Post

“Blankets for a hotel” quoth one of the men who laughed and helped.

From Literature

As quoth Poe: "The simple truths which science unfolds, day after day, are in fact, far stranger, apparently, than the wildest dreams."

From Salon

Quoth MSCHF’s latest manifesto: When killer robots come to America they will be wrapped in fur, carrying a ball.

From The Verge