Can I use 'quiet' as a verb in BrE?












2















Can I use the word 'quiet' as a verb in BrE (as opposed to N. American)? If I can, how is it conjugated?



The phrase I am looking to write is, "I wish to quiet my mind".



Should it be 'quieten'? That sounds incorrect.



Many thanks










share|improve this question

























  • And someone should coin enquiet, bequiet,...

    – Drew
    Jan 23 at 15:37
















2















Can I use the word 'quiet' as a verb in BrE (as opposed to N. American)? If I can, how is it conjugated?



The phrase I am looking to write is, "I wish to quiet my mind".



Should it be 'quieten'? That sounds incorrect.



Many thanks










share|improve this question

























  • And someone should coin enquiet, bequiet,...

    – Drew
    Jan 23 at 15:37














2












2








2


1






Can I use the word 'quiet' as a verb in BrE (as opposed to N. American)? If I can, how is it conjugated?



The phrase I am looking to write is, "I wish to quiet my mind".



Should it be 'quieten'? That sounds incorrect.



Many thanks










share|improve this question
















Can I use the word 'quiet' as a verb in BrE (as opposed to N. American)? If I can, how is it conjugated?



The phrase I am looking to write is, "I wish to quiet my mind".



Should it be 'quieten'? That sounds incorrect.



Many thanks







parts-of-speech






share|improve this question















share|improve this question













share|improve this question




share|improve this question








edited Jan 23 at 13:21









TaliesinMerlin

4,195824




4,195824










asked Jan 23 at 12:24









J dohJ doh

938




938













  • And someone should coin enquiet, bequiet,...

    – Drew
    Jan 23 at 15:37



















  • And someone should coin enquiet, bequiet,...

    – Drew
    Jan 23 at 15:37

















And someone should coin enquiet, bequiet,...

– Drew
Jan 23 at 15:37





And someone should coin enquiet, bequiet,...

– Drew
Jan 23 at 15:37










1 Answer
1






active

oldest

votes


















5














You can use either quieten or quiet in BrE (British English), whereas quiet would usually be used in AmE (American English).



First, quieten and quiet are two distinct verbs. Quieten is a later invention: the Oxford English Dictionary gives an example from 1759. It is formed from the adjective quiet plus the suffix -en, which creates a verb from an adjective and means, more or less, to make quiet. (Other formations with -en include moisten, harden, and darken.) Quieten is chiefly British, as Merriam-Webster points out, and is regular in conjugation - quietened, quietening, and so on.



Quiet as a verb comes from Middle English. It is regular in formation: quiet, quieted, and quieting. The word is largely interchangeable with quieten, and its usage is broad. Only two meanings are marked as dialect-specific in the OED:





  1. intransitive. Now chiefly N. Amer. To become quiet; to quieten. Frequently with down.


  2. transitive. Chiefly Law (U.S. in later use). To settle or establish the fact of ownership of (a title, etc.); to settle or establish (a person, company, etc.) in quiet enjoyment or possession of land or property (chiefly in passive).





The other meanings of quiet (to calm or subdue, to make quiet) are available to everyone.



So yes, if you wish to quiet your mind on this question, you may.






share|improve this answer























    Your Answer








    StackExchange.ready(function() {
    var channelOptions = {
    tags: "".split(" "),
    id: "97"
    };
    initTagRenderer("".split(" "), "".split(" "), channelOptions);

    StackExchange.using("externalEditor", function() {
    // Have to fire editor after snippets, if snippets enabled
    if (StackExchange.settings.snippets.snippetsEnabled) {
    StackExchange.using("snippets", function() {
    createEditor();
    });
    }
    else {
    createEditor();
    }
    });

    function createEditor() {
    StackExchange.prepareEditor({
    heartbeatType: 'answer',
    autoActivateHeartbeat: false,
    convertImagesToLinks: false,
    noModals: true,
    showLowRepImageUploadWarning: true,
    reputationToPostImages: null,
    bindNavPrevention: true,
    postfix: "",
    imageUploader: {
    brandingHtml: "Powered by u003ca class="icon-imgur-white" href="https://imgur.com/"u003eu003c/au003e",
    contentPolicyHtml: "User contributions licensed under u003ca href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/"u003ecc by-sa 3.0 with attribution requiredu003c/au003e u003ca href="https://stackoverflow.com/legal/content-policy"u003e(content policy)u003c/au003e",
    allowUrls: true
    },
    noCode: true, onDemand: true,
    discardSelector: ".discard-answer"
    ,immediatelyShowMarkdownHelp:true
    });


    }
    });














    draft saved

    draft discarded


















    StackExchange.ready(
    function () {
    StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2fenglish.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f482493%2fcan-i-use-quiet-as-a-verb-in-bre%23new-answer', 'question_page');
    }
    );

    Post as a guest















    Required, but never shown

























    1 Answer
    1






    active

    oldest

    votes








    1 Answer
    1






    active

    oldest

    votes









    active

    oldest

    votes






    active

    oldest

    votes









    5














    You can use either quieten or quiet in BrE (British English), whereas quiet would usually be used in AmE (American English).



    First, quieten and quiet are two distinct verbs. Quieten is a later invention: the Oxford English Dictionary gives an example from 1759. It is formed from the adjective quiet plus the suffix -en, which creates a verb from an adjective and means, more or less, to make quiet. (Other formations with -en include moisten, harden, and darken.) Quieten is chiefly British, as Merriam-Webster points out, and is regular in conjugation - quietened, quietening, and so on.



    Quiet as a verb comes from Middle English. It is regular in formation: quiet, quieted, and quieting. The word is largely interchangeable with quieten, and its usage is broad. Only two meanings are marked as dialect-specific in the OED:





    1. intransitive. Now chiefly N. Amer. To become quiet; to quieten. Frequently with down.


    2. transitive. Chiefly Law (U.S. in later use). To settle or establish the fact of ownership of (a title, etc.); to settle or establish (a person, company, etc.) in quiet enjoyment or possession of land or property (chiefly in passive).





    The other meanings of quiet (to calm or subdue, to make quiet) are available to everyone.



    So yes, if you wish to quiet your mind on this question, you may.






    share|improve this answer




























      5














      You can use either quieten or quiet in BrE (British English), whereas quiet would usually be used in AmE (American English).



      First, quieten and quiet are two distinct verbs. Quieten is a later invention: the Oxford English Dictionary gives an example from 1759. It is formed from the adjective quiet plus the suffix -en, which creates a verb from an adjective and means, more or less, to make quiet. (Other formations with -en include moisten, harden, and darken.) Quieten is chiefly British, as Merriam-Webster points out, and is regular in conjugation - quietened, quietening, and so on.



      Quiet as a verb comes from Middle English. It is regular in formation: quiet, quieted, and quieting. The word is largely interchangeable with quieten, and its usage is broad. Only two meanings are marked as dialect-specific in the OED:





      1. intransitive. Now chiefly N. Amer. To become quiet; to quieten. Frequently with down.


      2. transitive. Chiefly Law (U.S. in later use). To settle or establish the fact of ownership of (a title, etc.); to settle or establish (a person, company, etc.) in quiet enjoyment or possession of land or property (chiefly in passive).





      The other meanings of quiet (to calm or subdue, to make quiet) are available to everyone.



      So yes, if you wish to quiet your mind on this question, you may.






      share|improve this answer


























        5












        5








        5







        You can use either quieten or quiet in BrE (British English), whereas quiet would usually be used in AmE (American English).



        First, quieten and quiet are two distinct verbs. Quieten is a later invention: the Oxford English Dictionary gives an example from 1759. It is formed from the adjective quiet plus the suffix -en, which creates a verb from an adjective and means, more or less, to make quiet. (Other formations with -en include moisten, harden, and darken.) Quieten is chiefly British, as Merriam-Webster points out, and is regular in conjugation - quietened, quietening, and so on.



        Quiet as a verb comes from Middle English. It is regular in formation: quiet, quieted, and quieting. The word is largely interchangeable with quieten, and its usage is broad. Only two meanings are marked as dialect-specific in the OED:





        1. intransitive. Now chiefly N. Amer. To become quiet; to quieten. Frequently with down.


        2. transitive. Chiefly Law (U.S. in later use). To settle or establish the fact of ownership of (a title, etc.); to settle or establish (a person, company, etc.) in quiet enjoyment or possession of land or property (chiefly in passive).





        The other meanings of quiet (to calm or subdue, to make quiet) are available to everyone.



        So yes, if you wish to quiet your mind on this question, you may.






        share|improve this answer













        You can use either quieten or quiet in BrE (British English), whereas quiet would usually be used in AmE (American English).



        First, quieten and quiet are two distinct verbs. Quieten is a later invention: the Oxford English Dictionary gives an example from 1759. It is formed from the adjective quiet plus the suffix -en, which creates a verb from an adjective and means, more or less, to make quiet. (Other formations with -en include moisten, harden, and darken.) Quieten is chiefly British, as Merriam-Webster points out, and is regular in conjugation - quietened, quietening, and so on.



        Quiet as a verb comes from Middle English. It is regular in formation: quiet, quieted, and quieting. The word is largely interchangeable with quieten, and its usage is broad. Only two meanings are marked as dialect-specific in the OED:





        1. intransitive. Now chiefly N. Amer. To become quiet; to quieten. Frequently with down.


        2. transitive. Chiefly Law (U.S. in later use). To settle or establish the fact of ownership of (a title, etc.); to settle or establish (a person, company, etc.) in quiet enjoyment or possession of land or property (chiefly in passive).





        The other meanings of quiet (to calm or subdue, to make quiet) are available to everyone.



        So yes, if you wish to quiet your mind on this question, you may.







        share|improve this answer












        share|improve this answer



        share|improve this answer










        answered Jan 23 at 13:36









        TaliesinMerlinTaliesinMerlin

        4,195824




        4,195824






























            draft saved

            draft discarded




















































            Thanks for contributing an answer to English Language & Usage Stack Exchange!


            • Please be sure to answer the question. Provide details and share your research!

            But avoid



            • Asking for help, clarification, or responding to other answers.

            • Making statements based on opinion; back them up with references or personal experience.


            To learn more, see our tips on writing great answers.




            draft saved


            draft discarded














            StackExchange.ready(
            function () {
            StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2fenglish.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f482493%2fcan-i-use-quiet-as-a-verb-in-bre%23new-answer', 'question_page');
            }
            );

            Post as a guest















            Required, but never shown





















































            Required, but never shown














            Required, but never shown












            Required, but never shown







            Required, but never shown

































            Required, but never shown














            Required, but never shown












            Required, but never shown







            Required, but never shown







            Popular posts from this blog

            Human spaceflight

            Can not write log (Is /dev/pts mounted?) - openpty in Ubuntu-on-Windows?

            File:DeusFollowingSea.jpg