Definify.com

Webster 1913 Edition

Que

Que

,
Noun.
[Cf. 3d
Cue
.]
A half farthing.
[Obs.]

Definition 2024

Que

Que

See also: Appendix:Variations of "que"

English

Alternative forms

Proper noun

Que

  1. Abbreviation of Querétaro, a state of Mexico.
  2. Abbreviation of Québec, a province of Canada.
  3. Abbreviation of Québec City, the capital of the province of Québec, Canada

Tagalog

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /kɛ/

Etymology

Min Nan Hokkien 郭 ‎(Koeh).

Proper noun

Que

  1. A surname​ of Chinese origin.

See also

que

que

See also: Appendix:Variations of "que"

English

Noun

que ‎(plural ques)

  1. (US, informal, rare) Short for barbeque.
    • 2009 December 25, Nick Cramer, in My "homemade" Italian meatball recipe - for Nick and Meir, in soc.culture.jewish.moderated, Usenet:
      Then about 1950 two German brothers who had a meat market began cooking BBQ in their market to use up left over meat. One got the idea to smoke a brisket as he was smoking sausage one weekend. He left it all weekend in his smokehouse and on Monday as they were serving their que, pork, sausage & chicken, he cut a slice […]
    • 2010 September 22, Nanzi (username), in Re: Yoy guys are killing this group, in alt.food.barbecue, Usenet:
      Instead please join in the sharing of que methods and recipes, or questions.
    • 2011, Kathy Reichs, Spider Bones: A Novel (ISBN 145164194X), page 57
      The back route I favor involves a long stretch on Highway 74 and brings me close enough to Lumberton for a barbeque detour. That was my target today. Being already in Lumberton, it only made sense to score some “que.”

Asturian

Etymology

From Latin quid.

Pronoun

que

  1. that, what, which

Related terms

Catalan

Etymology 1

From Latin quem, accusative of quī,.

Pronoun

que

  1. (relative) that, which
  2. (relative) that, who, whom

Related terms

Etymology 2

From Latin quid, from Proto-Indo-European *kʷid, compare *kʷis..

Conjunction

que

  1. (relative) that
  2. (in comparisons) than

Adverb

que

  1. how; used to indicate surprise, delight and such.
    Que bonic és viure!
    How nice it is to live!

See also

Fala

Etymology

From Old Portuguese que, from Latin quid ‎(“that”), from Proto-Indo-European *kʷís.

Conjunction

que

  1. that (connecting noun clause)
    • 2000, Domingo Frades Gaspar, Vamus a falal: Notas pâ coñocel y platical en nosa fala, Editora regional da Extremadura, Chapter 1: Lengua Española:
      I si “a patria do homi é sua lengua”, cumu idía Albert Camus, o que está claru é que a lengua está mui por encima de fronteiras, serras, rius i maris, de situaciós pulíticas i sociu-económicas, de lazus religiosus e inclusu familiaris.
      And if “a man’s homeland is his language”, as Albert Camus said, what is clear is that language is beyond borders, mountain ranges, rivers and seas, above political and socio-economic situations, of religious and even family ties.
  2. than (used in comparisons, to introduce the basis of comparison)
    • 2000, Domingo Frades Gaspar, Vamus a falal: Notas pâ coñocel y platical en nosa fala, Editora regional da Extremadura, Chapter 2: Númerus:
      Cumu to é cuestión de proporciós, sin que sirva de argumentu por nun fel falta, poemus vel que en a misma Europa hai Estaus Soberarius con menus territoriu que os tres lugaris nossus, cumu:
      As everything is a matter of proportions, without its presence being an argument, we can see that even in Europe there are Sovereign States with less territory than our three places, such as:

Derived terms

French

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /kə/
  • Rhymes: -ə

Etymology 1

From Latin quia.

Conjunction

que

  1. that (introduces a noun clause and connects it to its parent clause)
    Je vois que tu parles bien français. — I see that you speak French well.
  2. (used with ne) only (ne ... que parses roughly as "(do[es]) not / nothing ... other than")
    Je ne mange que des fruits. — I eat only fruits.
  3. Substitutes for another, previously stated conjunction.
    Si le temps est beau et que tout le monde est d'accord, nous mangerons en plein air. — If the weather is nice and if everyone likes the idea, we'll eat outside.
  4. when, no sooner.
    Il était à peine parti qu'elle a téléphoné à la police. — No sooner had he left when she called the police.
  5. Links two noun phrases in apposition forming a clause without a (finite) verb, such that the complement acts as predicate.
    • 1874, Barbey d'Aurevilly, ‘Le Bonheur dans le crime’, Les Diaboliques:
      —Quelle grande bête, avec tout son esprit, que votre marquise, pour vous avoir dit pareille chose! — fit la duchesse […].
      ‘What a beast your marquess is, for all her spirit, for having told you such a thing!’ said the duchess.
    • 1918, Jean Giradoux, Simon le pathétique:
      —Quelle belle fleur que la rose! dit-elle soudain, alors qu'aucune rose n'était en vue […].
      ‘What a beautiful flower the rose is!’ she said suddenly, though no rose was in sight.
Usage notes
  • Unlike its English counterpart, que (sense 1) cannot be omitted.
  • Ne...que, though it may look like a negative structure, is not a true negative. The partitive article is used after it and does not change into de as with other negatives.
Derived terms

Etymology 2

From Latin quam.

Conjunction

que

  1. than (introduces a comparison)
    Il est plus grand que son père. — He is taller than his father.

Etymology 3

From Latin quid, from Proto-Indo-European *kʷid, compare *kʷis.

Pronoun

que

  1. (slightly formal) The inanimate direct-object interrogative pronoun.
    Que pensez-vous de cette peinture ? — What do you think of that painting?
  2. (slightly formal) The subject or predicative interrogative pronoun.
    Qu'est-il arrivé ?
    Que me vaut cette visite ?

Synonyms

Etymology 4

From Latin quem, accusative of qui.

Pronoun

que

  1. The direct object relative pronoun.
    C'est un homme que je connais très bien. — He's a man whom I know very well.
    Je viens de lire la lettre que vous m'avez envoyée. — I've just read the letter that you sent me.

See also

Galician

Pronunciation

Etymology 1

From Old Portuguese que, from Latin quid.

Conjunction

que

  1. that

Etymology 2

From Latin quid.

Adjective

que

  1. what; which (interrogative only)
    ¿Que camisa queres? - “Which shirt do you want?”

Adverb

que

  1. how; what (comparative)
    que lástima - “how sad”
  2. used to express an adjective; how [mostly not translated]
    que feo
    ¡[how] ugly!
    que alto
    ¡[how] tall!
    que bonito
    ¡[how] cool!

Pronoun

que

  1. what (interrogative only)
    ¿Que ves? - “What do you see?”
  2. that, which

Etymology 3

Noun

que f ‎(plural ques)

  1. Name of the letter q.

Ido

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /kwe/, /kwɛ/

Noun

que ‎(plural que-i)

  1. The name of the Latin script letter Q/q.

See also

Indo-Portuguese

Etymology

From Portuguese que, from Old Portuguese que, from Latin quid ‎(“what”), from Proto-Indo-European *kʷid.

Pronoun

que

  1. that; which
    • 1883, Hugo Schuchardt, Kreolische Studien, volume 3:
      […] , que da-cá su quião que ta pertencê a êll.
      […] , to give him his share which belongs to him.

Interlingua

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /k(w)e/

Conjunction

que

  1. that

Pronoun

que

  1. what (interrogative)
    Que tu prefere? - What do you prefer?

Derived terms

Mandarin

Romanization

que

  1. Nonstandard spelling of quē.
  2. Nonstandard spelling of qué.
  3. Nonstandard spelling of què.

Usage notes

  • English transcriptions of Mandarin speech often fail to distinguish between the critical tonal differences employed in the Mandarin language, using words such as this one without the appropriate indication of tone.

Middle French

Etymology

From Latin quia.

Conjunction

que

  1. that

Etymology 2

From Latin quid.

Pronoun

que

  1. what
    • 1488, Jean Dupré, Lancelot du Lac, page 61:
      si en fut tant dolent qu'il ne sçavoit que dire
      then he was so sad that he didn't know what to say

Descendants

Novial

Pronoun

que

  1. (interrogative) who

Old French

Alternative forms

Etymology

From Latin quid, quis.

Pronoun

que

  1. (interrogative) what, who
  2. (indefinite) (that) which

Conjunction

que

  1. that

Derived terms

Descendants

  • Middle French: que

Old Portuguese

Alternative forms

  • q̃ (abbreviation, in manuscripts)
  • q̇ (abbreviation, in manuscripts)

Conjunction

que

  1. that (introduces a connecting clause)

Descendants

  • Portuguese: que

Old Provençal

Etymology

From Latin quid, quis.

Pronoun

que

  1. (interrogative) what, who
  2. (indefinite) (that) which

Descendants

Conjunction

que

  1. that

Portuguese

Alternative forms

  • q (abbreviation)
  • q̃ (abbreviation, obsolete)

Etymology

From Old Portuguese que, from Latin quid ‎(“what”), from Proto-Indo-European *kʷid, compare *kʷis.

Pronunciation

Conjunction

que

  1. that (connecting noun clause)
    • 2003, Lya Wyler (translator), J. K. Rowling (English author), Harry Potter e a Ordem da Fênix (Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix), Rocco, page 227:
      Pensei que você tivesse dito que ela estava só mandando você escrever!
      I thought that you had said that she was just ordering you to write!
    • 2007, Lya Wyler (translator), J. K. Rowling (English author), Harry Potter e as Relíquias da Morte (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows), Rocco, page 588:
      Pensei que eles fossem invisíveis.
      I thought that they were invisible.
  2. that (introducing the result of the main clause)
    Está tão frio que os canos congelaram.‎
    It is so cold that the pipes froze
  3. than (used in comparisons, to introduce the basis of comparison)
    O inverno é mais frio que o verão.‎
    Winter is colder than summer.
  4. (only in subordinate clauses) because; since; for (introduces explanatory clause).
    Espere um pouco que a chuva já vai parar.‎
    Wait a little: for the rain is about to stop.
    • 1878, Machado de Assis, O Machete (short story):
      Nas horas de lazer, tratava Inácio do querido instrumento e fazia vibrar todas as cordas do coração, derramando as suas harmonias interiores, e fazendo chorar a boa velha de melancolia e gosto, que ambos estes sentimentos lhe inspirava a música do filho.
      In his times of leisure, Inácio took care of the loved instrument and made all heartstrings vibrate, outpouring his inner harmonies, and making the good old woman cry with melancholy and pleasure: for both these feelings the son’s music inspired in her.

Quotations

For usage examples of this term, see Citations:que.

Synonyms

Derived terms

Pronoun

que

  1. (interrogative) what (used to ask for a specification)
    Que livro é esse?‎
    What book is this?
  2. (relative) which; that; who (of those mentioned)
    Li uma notícia que era muita desagradável.‎
    I read news that was very unpleasant.
  3. (indefinite) what thing
  4. what a (preceding nouns); how (preceding adjectives) (indicates surprise, delight, or other strong feelings)
    Que jogador!‎
    What a player!
    Que belo!‎
    How beautiful!

Synonyms

Spanish

Etymology

From Latin quid, from Proto-Indo-European *kʷid, compare *kʷis.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ke/
  • Homophone: qué

Conjunction

que

  1. that
    Él dice que está triste.‎
    He says that he/she is sad.
  2. than
    Estoy más tarde que tú.‎
    I am later than you.
  3. indicating a reason, roughly because
    ¡Ve más lento, que es resbaloso!‎
    Slow down, (because) it is slippery!
  4. indicating desire or permission
    ¡Que punza el globo!‎
    will you pop the balloon!

Pronoun

que

  1. who; that
    la estrella que está en la película - “the star who is in the movie”
  2. that; whom
    la mujer con que yo hablé - “the woman with whom I spoke”
  3. that; which
    la casa que yo quiero - “the house that I want”

Derived terms

Related terms

See also

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /kjuː/
  • Rhymes: -uː
  • Homophones: cue, Q, queue

Similar Results