quite

The word 'quite' has an intriguing journey from a concrete legal term to a versatile adverb of degree. It entered English from Anglo-French, where 'quite' meant 'discharged, free, clear' (as from a debt or obligation). This derives from Latin 'quietus', the past participle of 'quiescere' meaning 'to rest, be quiet', which in turn comes from the Proto-Indo-European root kweie- meaning 'to rest, be quiet'. The semantic evolution moved from the state of being 'completely free or clear' of something to the more abstract adverbial sense of 'completely, wholly'. By the 19th century, its meaning weakened in British English to the now common sense of 'to a considerable extent' or 'fairly', creating a fascinating split with its stronger, absolute sense still prevalent in American English.

The word 'quite' is a simplex form. It originated as a variant of the Middle English 'quit', meaning 'free, clear', which itself came from Old French 'quite', from Latin 'quietus' meaning 'calm, at rest'.