quid

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   one pound sterling, in informal British usage; the plural is also quid

   The driver said he would not wait there after dark for less than a quid a minute.

2. 2
   noun

   a small lump or wad of tobacco held in the mouth for chewing

   The sailor tucked a quid of tobacco inside his cheek.

The British money sense has been recorded since the seventeenth century, but its origin is uncertain; it may relate to Latin quid ("what, something") or quid pro quo. The tobacco sense is older and comes through Middle English quide from Old English cwidu, making it a doublet of cud.

Topics