quisquam

Latin

Etymology

Fromquis+‎quam(“any”).Compare toquisque.

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin)IPA^(key):/ˈkʷis.kʷam/,[ˈkʷɪs̠kʷä̃ˑ]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical)IPA^(key):/ˈkwis.kwam/,[ˈkwiskwäm]

Pronoun

quisquam(neuterquidquamorquicquam);relative/interrogativepronoun with anindeclinableportion

1. (masculine,chiefly in the negative)anyone
   • c.52BCE,Julius Caesar,Commentarii de Bello Gallico7.28.4.1:

     nec fuitquisquamqui praedae studeret.

     and there was notanyonewho gave attention to spoils.

   • Plautus,Bacchides.In:Plautus with an English translation by Paul Nixon,vol. I of five volumes, 1916, p. 330f.:

     ne aquoquamacciperes alio mercedem annuam, nisi ab sese, nec cumquiquamlimares caput.

     Not to let you take a yearly fee fromanyoneelse but him, or rub heads withanyone.

2. (neuter,chiefly in the negative)anything
   • 70BCE,Cicero,In Verrem2.4.48.8:

     Qui cum in convivium venisset, siquicquamcaelati aspexerat, manus abstinere, iudices, non poterat.

     When he came to a banquet, if he sawanythingengraved, he could not keep his hands off, judges.

Usage notes

• Thenegative polaritycounterpart ofnēmō(“nobody”)andnihil(“nothing”).Typically used in clauses that contain a preceding negative word, often the conjunctionnec/neque.In Classical Latin, "nec quisquam" was preferred over "et nēmō".Like other negative polarity items,quisquamcan also occur with no preceding negative word in certain contexts, possibly connected by the concept ofdownward entailment.Other words that can licence its use includevix(“scarcely”)andsine(“without”).It it also used with comparatives. It can be used in conditional or interrogative clauses, but its usage here can overlap with other pronouns, especially the indefinite pronounquis.Aftersī,nē,num,an,it is more usual to findquis,butquisquamcan also occur; it may have a more emphatic sense "any at all" or "any whatsoever".Quisquamis not used innisi-clauses.
• Like other pronouns, it may take a partitive genitive. The neuter may be used with the genitive singular of a neuter second-declension adjective, e.g.quicquam mali'anything wrong', or with an agreeing adjective, as inquicquam bonum'anything good'.
• The forms in the column labeled "Masc./Fem." are typically used as an indefinite pronoun that takes masculine grammatical agreement but has a generic sense that encompasses anyone regardless of sex. The masculine gender is often used in Latin as a default when referring to persons of unknown gender; compare the masculine interrogative pronounquis(“who?”)and negative pronounnēmō(“nobody”).
• Notes on forms by gender and number:
  • Grammatically feminine forms of this pronoun are rare and very poorly attested in Classical Latin. To express its sense in the feminine, forms ofūllussuch asūlla,ūllam,etc. could be used instead(seeCitations:ullus). There are examples of the nominativequisquamand accusativequemquambeing used as feminine pronouns by the anteclassical poetsPlautusandTerence(seeCitations:quisquam). Alternative, exclusively feminine formsquaequam(nom. sg.) andquamquam(acc. sg.) are mentioned by postclassical grammarians and attested in postclassical texts; however, in the Classical Latin corpus, these forms are unattested as pronouns and scarcely attested as adjectives (see below and seeCitations:quaequam). Compare the use ofquaeandquamas feminine interrogative pronouns (versus the anteclassical use ofquisandquemin this function). No feminine ablative singular form seems to be attested in Classical Latin outside of adverbial use ofquāquam(compare the adverbquā) as part of the expressionshaud/haut quāquam=haudquāquamandnec quāquam=nēquāquam(or in "negas nuptam quaquam" in Pomponius as cited by Charisius).
  • For the neuter pronoun, the only form in common use is nominative/accusativequidquam/quicquam.(The formscuiusquam,cuiquam,quōquamare occasionally used as adjectival modifiers of neuter nouns, but are usually masculine rather than neuter when used by themselves as pronouns.) To express the sense of the neuter pronoun in the genitive, dative and ablative, the periphrastic expressionsūllī̆us reī,ūllī reī,andūllā rēmay be used (compare hownūllī̆usreī,nūllīreī,andnūllārēfunction as suppletive genitive, dative and ablative forms of the indeclinable pronounnihil(“nothing”)), as in "sūmptū nē parcāsūllāinrē,quod ad valētūdinem opus sit "(CiceroEpistulae ad Familiares16.4.2.8).
  • For the masculine pronoun, the genitive singularcuiusquamis frequent, butūllī̆uscan optionally be used instead.The masculine ablative singular formquōquamis attested as a pronoun in Classical Latin(seeCitations:quoquam), but is relatively rare(the formquōquamis more often an adverb). As an alternative,ūllōcan be used instead(seeCitations:ullus;compare the common use ofnūllōin place ofnēmine.) An alternative masculine ablative singular formquīquamis found inPlautusand possibly also in Apuleius (seeCitations:quiquam).
  • Plural forms are unattested in Classical Latin, as with the corresponding negative pronounsnēmō(“nobody”)andnihil(“nothing”).The 4th-century grammarianCharisiussays the plural is not used: "unum autem adest quam semper singulare. non enim ut quisquam quemquam, sic utique quiquam quosquam dicimus" (Charisius 2, 7).Forms ofūllusmay be used in place of the unused plural forms.

Declension

Negative polarityindefinitepronoun.

	singular
	masc./fem.	neuter
nominative	quisquam	quidquam quicquam
genitive	cuiusquam1
dative	cuiquam1
accusative	quemquam	quidquam quicquam
ablative	quōquam quīquam

¹In Republican Latin or earlier, alternative spellings could be found for the following forms ofquī/quisand its compounds: the masculine nominative singular or pluralquī(old spellingquei), the genitive singularcuius(old spellingquoius), the dative singularcui(old spellingquoiorquoiei), the dative/ablative pluralquīs(old spellingqueis).

In practice, forms other thanquidquam/quicquamare almost always non-neuter when used as pronouns (and usually grammatically masculine, but in most cases can semantically include any human being regardless of gender); see usage notes. Considered purely in terms of form,cuiusquam,cuiquam,quīquamare theoretically unmarked for grammatical gender,quisquamandquemquamare theoretically marked as non-neuter (i.e masculine or feminine), andquōquamis theoretically marked as non-feminine (i.e. masculine or neuter).

Adjective

quisquam(femininequaequam,neuterquodquam);relative/interrogativepronoun with anindeclinableportion

1. (chiefly in the negative)any

   Synonym:ūllus

   • 68BCE– 44BCE,Cicero,Epistulae ad Atticum9.6.5.8:

     Quid tu autem possis, aut quid homoquisquam?

     • 1913translation by E.O. Winstedt

       Yet what could you oranyman do?

Usage notes

Depending on the number, gender, case, and meaning of the accompanying noun, forms of the synonymous adjectiveūllus(“any”)may be preferred instead. In Classical Latin, only singular forms ofquisquamare securely attested; when used adjectivally, it appears mostly in combination with masculine nouns that denote persons, such ashomō(“man”)orscrīptor(“writer”)(compare the use ofnēmō(“nobody”)as a modifier of a singular personal noun). There are also some attested uses with masculine, feminine or neuter nouns that refer collectively to a group of people, or rarely, with nouns that denote impersonal things.

Classical Latin usage can be summarized as follows:

• Nominative and accusative forms:
  • Masculine: In the nominative case, Cicero seems to have preferredquisquamoverūllusin combination with personal masculine nouns (e.g.quisquam scrīptor), whereas in the accusative case he used bothquemquamandūllumin this context (e.g.quemquam scrīptōrem,ūllum scrīptōrem).With an impersonal masculine noun, the use ofquisquamorquemquamrather thanūllus/ūllumis uncommon, but is found several times in Lucretius's poemDe Rerum Naturaand is sporadically attested in other authors (seeCitations:quisquam).
  • Feminine nominative and accusative forms are unattested in Classical Latin, with the single possible exception ofquamquamin "ad quamquam rem" in theEpistulaeofSeneca the Younger.The nominative formquaequamseems to be attested only in postclassical Latin. SeeCitations:quaequam.Usuallyūllaandūllamare used instead in combination with feminine nouns, whether personal or impersonal (seeCitations:ullus). In the anteclassical poetPlautus,the formsquisquamandquemquamcan be found with feminine nouns, generally personal or animate ones (e.g. "quisquam alia mulier"; seeCitations:quisquam).
  • Neuter nominative/accusative forms are unattested in Classical Latin: usuallyūllumis used instead in combination with neuter nouns. The formquodquamis attested only in postclassical Latin (seeCitations:quodquam). The formquidquam/quicquamis typically used as a pronoun, but in Plautus, there are two attestations of "quicquam facinus", with "quicquam" used as an adjective or in apposition with an accompanying noun (compare the use ofquidquidas an adjective).
• The genitive and dative formscuiusquamandcuiquamseem to have been preferred by Cicero overūllī̆usandūllīin combination with a personal masculine noun (i.e.cuiusquam scrīptōris,cuiquam scrīptōrī).Cuiusquamandcuiquamare also attested in combination with feminine and neuter nouns in classical Latin, although rarely (seeCitations:quisquam).
• In the ablative, it seems to have been preferred in Classical Latin to use forms ofūllus(ūllōmorn,ūllāf) instead, even in combination with personal masculine nouns.Quōquamis attested once in combination with a masculine noun in Cicero ( "homine quoquam",Pro Roscio Amerino74.14; contrast with "homine ullo",Pro S. Roscio Amerino96.6,Pro Cluentio152.9 and "ullo homine",Pro Ligario26.5,Epistulae ad Atticum1.20.1.11) and once in combination with a neuter noun in Suetonius ( "quoquam incepto",Divus Julius59.1). There are numerous additional examples ofquōquamas a masculine or neuter adjective in the works of postclassical authors such as Augustine of Hippo. SeeCitations:quoquam.In Plautus, the alternative ablative singular formquīquamis attested in combination with masculine nouns ( "quiquam homine", "quiquam viro"; seeCitations:quiquam).

A full declensional paradigm with feminine singularquaequam,quamquam,quāquam,neuter singularquodquam,and plural forms is given by the late grammatical textsInstituta artium(attributed to a 'Probus', but its author cannot be the grammarian Marcus Valerius Probus) andArs grammaticabyDiomedes Grammaticus.Some of these forms (such asquaequam,quāquam,quodquam) have attested use in postclassical Latin, while others (such as the vocative forms these authors list) may be purely theoretical.

Declension

Negative polarityindefinitedeterminer.

	singular				plural
	masculine	feminine	neuter		masculine	feminine	neuter
nominative	quisquam	quaequam1 quisquam2	quodquam1		quīquam1	quaequam1
genitive	cuiusquam				quōrumquam1	quārumquam1	quōrumquam1
dative	cuiquam				quibusquam1
accusative	quemquam	quamquam3 quemquam2	quodquam1		quōsquam1	quāsquam1	quaequam1
ablative	quōquam4 quīquam2	quāquam1	quōquam4		quibusquam1
vocative	quisquam1	quaequam1	quodquam1		quīquam1	quaequam1

¹Only attested in postclassical Latin. In Classical Latin, forms ofūlluswere used instead.
²Only attested as a feminine form in the preclassical Latin of authors like Plautus.
³Attested only once in Classical Latin. Usuallyūllamwas used instead.
⁴Attested, but rare in Classical Latin. Usuallyūllōwas used instead.

Derived terms

• nēquīquam

Related terms

• nēquāquam
• haudquāquam

Latin correlatives^(edit)

type	demonstrative			anaphoric	identity	interrogative/ relative	indefinite					negative	other
	proximal	medial	distal				relative	indefinite	free choice	universal	negative polarity
basic	hic	iste,istic	ille,illic	is	ipse,īdem	quis/quī	quisquis,quīcumque	quis,quī,quīdam,aliquis,aliquī,quispiam	quīvis,quīlibet	quisque	quisquam,ūllus,°aliquisquam	nēmō,nihil,nūllus	alius
dual						uter	utercumque	alteruter	utervīs,uterlibet	uterque		neuter	alter
place	hīc	istīc	illīc	ibī̆	ibī̆dem	ubī̆	ubiubi,ubī̆cumque	alicubī,uspiam	ubivīs,ubilibet	ubīque	usquam	nusquam,nūllibī	alibī,aliās
source	hinc	istinc	illinc	inde	indidem	unde	undecumque,undeunde	alicunde	°undelibet	undique			aliunde
destination	hūc,°hōrsum	istūc,°istōrsum	illūc,°illōrsum	eō	eōdem	quō,quōrsum	quōquō,quōcumque	aliquō,quōpiam,°aliquōvorsum	quōvīs,quōlibet		quōquam	nusquam,nūllōrsum	aliō,aliōrsum
method, means, path, place	hāc	istāc	illāc	eā	eādem	quā	quāquā,quācumque	aliquā	quāvīs,quālibet	quāque		nēquāquam,haudquāquam	aliā
manner	hōcmodō	istōmodō	illōmodō	ita,sīc, eōmodō	item,itidem	ut,quī,quōmodō,quōmodo,quemadmodum	utut,utcumque,quōmodocumque	quī,quōdammodō,aliquōmodō	quōmodolibet	utīque	ūllōmodō	nūllōmodō	aliter,aliōquī,alterō/aliōmodō
time	num,nunc		ōlim	tum,tunc	simul	quandō,‡cum	cumque,quandōcumque,quandōque	quondam,aliquandō	quandōlibet	quandōque	umquam	numquam	aliās
quantity				tam	†tamen,†tandem	quam	†quamquam	aliquam	quamvīs,quamlibet
size				tantus	tantusdem	quantus	quantuscumque	aliquantus	quantusvīs,quantuslibet
quality				tālis		quālis	quālis,quāliscumque	aliquālis	quālislibet
number				tot	totidem	quot	quotquot,quotcumque	aliquot	quotlibet
order				totus		quotus	quotuscumque	aliquotus	quotuslibet
repetition				totiēns		quotiēns	quotiēnscumque	aliquotiēns	quotiēnslibet
multiplication				totuplex		quotuplex
† Turned conjunction with original meaning somewhat dissimulated ° Rare ‡only used as a conjunction, not as an interrogative

Further reading

• “quisquam”,inCharlton T. Lewis (1891)An Elementary Latin Dictionary,New York: Harper & Brothers
• quisquaminGaffiot, Félix (1934)Dictionnaire illustré latin-français,Hachette.
• quisquaminRamminger, Johann (2016 July 16 (last accessed))Neulateinische Wortliste: Ein Wörterbuch des Lateinischen von Petrarca bis 1700‎^[2],pre-publication website, 2005-2016