quarrel

B2 Topic:General Vocabulary

US /ˈkwɔɹəl/ UK /ˈkwɒɹ(ə)l/ See IPA manual

Freq #7231

Meanings

1

noun
An angry argument or disagreement.

We got into a silly quarrel about what food to order.
2

verb
To argue angrily with someone.

The brothers quarrelled over who should pay the bill.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Multiword verbs with quarrel

quarrel with Prepositional verb B2

to argue angrily or disagree with someone

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · an angry argument or... row argument altercation

2 verb · to argue angrily with someone. argue squabble

Word family

Forms quarreledquarrelingquarrelledquarrellingquarrels

Derived forms pick-quarrelquarrelerquarrellerquarrelousquarrelsomeunquarrelledunquarrelling

Related forms quarlquarry querent

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

quarrel with
to argue angrily or disagree with someone

Verb + preposition/particle

Proverbs (2)

See all

Etymology

PIE word *kʷetwóres From Middle English quarrel (“bolt for an arbalest, crossbow, or siege engine; (figurative) seductive glance, temptation to sin; needle (possibly one square in cross-section); small (perhaps square-shaped) opening in window tracery; a cushion (perhaps square-shaped)”) [and other forms], from Anglo-Norman quarel, quarele, quarrel, Middle French quarrel, and Old French quarel, quarrel, carrel (“crossbow bolt; floor tile or paving stone (rectangular- or square-shaped); small glass pane for windows”) (modern French carreau (“crossbow bolt; a tile; windowpane; a square”)), from…

*kʷet- Proto-Indo-European quarrel Middle English quarel Old French quarellus la-lat quadrum Latin *kʷetwóres Proto-Indo-European

View etymology graph ->

Topics

General Vocabulary

External links

# quarrel

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B2
**Part of speech:** noun, verb
**IPA (US):** /ˈkwɔɹəl/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈkwɒɹ(ə)l/
**Frequency rank:** 7231

## Meanings
1. An angry argument or disagreement.
2. To argue angrily with someone.

## Examples
- We got into a silly quarrel about what food to order.
- The brothers quarrelled over who should pay the bill.

## Derived Forms
- pick-quarrel
- quarreler
- quarreller
- quarrelous
- quarrelsome
- unquarrelled
- unquarrelling

## Related Forms
- quarl
- quarry
- querent

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: *kʷet-
- Root: quarrel
- Root: quarel
- Root: quarellus
- Root: quadrum
- Root: *kʷetwóres

## Etymology
PIE word *kʷetwóres From Middle English quarrel (“bolt for an arbalest, crossbow, or siege engine; (figurative) seductive glance, temptation to sin; needle (possibly one square in cross-section); small (perhaps square-shaped) opening in window tracery; a cushion (perhaps square-shaped)”) [and other forms], from Anglo-Norman quarel, quarele, quarrel, Middle French quarrel, and Old French quarel, quarrel, carrel (“crossbow bolt; floor tile or paving stone (rectangular- or square-shaped); small glass pane for windows”) (modern French carreau (“crossbow bolt; a tile; windowpane; a square”)), from…

## AI Etymology
Quarrel comes from Middle English quarrel (“bolt for an arbalest, crossbow, or siege engine; (figurative) seductive glance, temptation to sin; needle (possibly one square in cross-section); small (perhaps square-shaped) opening in window tracery; a cushion (perhaps square-shaped)”) [and other forms], from Anglo-Norman quarel, quarele, quarrel, Middle French quarrel, and Old French quarel, quarrel, carrel (“crossbow bolt; floor tile or paving stone (rectangular- or square-shaped); small glass pane for windows”) (modern French carreau (“crossbow bolt; a tile; windowpane; a square”)), from. The historical chain includes *kʷet- (Proto-Indo-European), quarrel (Middle English), quarel (xno), quarrel (Middle French), quarel (Old French), quarellus (la-lat). In present-day English it covers an angry argument or disagreement and to argue angrily with someone. The wider family includes derived forms such as pick-quarrel, quarreler, quarreller, quarrelous, quarrelsome and related forms such as quarl, quarry, querent.

## Topics
- General Vocabulary

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