quarto

noun

quar·​to ˈkwȯr-(ˌ)tō How to pronounce quarto (audio)
plural quartos
1
: the size of a piece of paper cut four from a sheet
also : paper or a page of this size
2
: a book printed on quarto pages

Examples of quarto in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Packaged as popular entertainment, quartos weren’t meant to last. Ellen Wexler, Smithsonian Magazine, 21 Apr. 2023 The others, often differing in numerous details, first appeared in the 1590s and early 1600s as cheap pamphlets called quartos. Michael Dirda, Washington Post, 21 Apr. 2023 The chapter on beef, pork and lamb dishes focuses on affordable cuts of meat and includes a little history lesson about the quinto quarto. oregonlive, 21 Apr. 2023 The Bard’s 1609 quarto of poetry defined a new genre—Shakespearean sonnets—that continues to inspire poets today. Theresa MacHemer, Smithsonian Magazine, 7 Apr. 2020 A couple of these men, John Heminges and Henry Condell, come up with the wild idea to publish all of Shakespeare’s scripts in a handsome bound folio rather than the cheap unauthorized quartos then available. Alexis Soloski, New York Times, 25 July 2017 In the twelve untitled poems that ran on quarto-size pages, scattered with varied-length ellipses, his long lines expand and contract between the margins like the steady crash of waves. Jeffrey Yang, The New Yorker, 22 Mar. 2017

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'quarto.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Latin, ablative of quartus fourth

First Known Use

1580, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of quarto was in 1580

Dictionary Entries Near quarto

Cite this Entry

“Quarto.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/quarto. Accessed 5 Nov. 2024.

Kids Definition

quarto

noun
quar·​to ˈkwȯrt-ō How to pronounce quarto (audio)
plural quartos
: a book made up of sheets of paper that have been folded into four leaves

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