quirt

The word 'quirt' entered English in the mid-19th century from American Spanish, specifically from the term 'cuarta'. This Spanish word originally meant a whip or a lash. 'Cuarta' itself is derived from the Spanish adjective 'cuarta', meaning 'fourth', which in turn comes from the Latin 'quarta', the feminine form of 'quartus' (fourth). The semantic connection is thought to be that the whip was originally made from four intertwined leather strands or perhaps was a quarter of a vara (a Spanish unit of length) in size. Thus, the modern English term for this specific type of riding whip retains the phonetic shape of its Spanish source, carrying with it the historical imprint of its construction or measurement.

This word is a loanword and simplex form. Its spelling and form are adopted as a whole from Spanish.