Latin

Alternative forms

• quāmde, quānde

Adverb

quam ‎(not comparable)

1. how, to what degree
2. How much (in questions)
3. Than, as (in comparisons)
   • 4th century, St Jerome, Vulgate, Tobit 2:9

     sed Tobias plus timens Deum quam regem rapiebat corpora occisorum et occultabat in domo sua et mediis noctibus sepeliebat ea (But Tobias fearing God more than the king, carried off the bodies of them that were slain, and hid them in his house, and at midnight buried them.)

4. (emphatic) how
5. (used before superlative) as ... as possible

   Ea vēnit quam celerrime.

   She came here as quickly as possible.

Derived terms

Descendants

• Portuguese quão, ca
• Romanian: ca
• Spanish: cuan

Conjunction

quam

1. how
2. (used after magis) (more ... ) than

   Prudēns magis quam loquāx‎

   More prudent than talkative

3. (used after comparative) than

   Is vīdit paucōs servitōs fidēliōres quam eum.‎

   He has seen few servants more loyal than this slave.

References

• quam in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• quam in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• QUAM in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition, 1883–1887)
• Félix Gaffiot (1934), “quam”, in Dictionnaire Illustré Latin-Français, Paris: Hachette, pages 1,290–1,291.
• Meissner, Carl; Auden, Henry William (1894) Latin Phrase-Book, London: Macmillan and Co.
  • (ambiguous) I cannot wait till..: nihil mihi longius est or videtur quam dum or quam ut
    
  • (ambiguous) nothing is more tiresome to me than..: nihil mihi longius est quam (c. Inf.)
    
  • (ambiguous) it is more than twenty years ago: amplius sunt (quam) viginti anni or viginti annis
    
  • (ambiguous) Plato's ideal republic: illa civitas, quam Plato finxit
    
  • (ambiguous) this is more plausible than true: haec speciosiora quam veriora sunt
    
  • (ambiguous) I have exhausted all my material: copiam quam potui persecutus sum
    
  • (ambiguous) there is nothing I am more interested in than..: nihil antiquius or prius habeo quam ut (nihil mihi antiquius or potius est, quam ut)
    
  • (ambiguous) by the longest possible forced marches: quam maximis itineribus (potest)
    
• quam in Ramminger, Johann (accessed 22.04.04) Neulateinische Wortliste: Ein Wörterbuch des Lateinischen von Petrarca bis 1700, pre-publication website, 2005-2016
• “quam” on pages 1,537–1,538 of the Oxford Latin Dictionary (1st ed., 1968–82)

Etymology 2

See quī ‎(relative pronoun and interrogative adjective).

Pronoun

quam

1. accusative singular feminine of quī

Adjective

quam

1. accusative singular feminine of quī

Etymology 3

See quis ‎(pronoun).

Pronoun

quam

1. accusative singular feminine of quis