Q, q, the 17th letter and the 13th con- QUADRAGESIMA ("fortieth") , thr
sonant of the English alphabet, a conso- Latin name for the whole season of Lent,
nant having only one sound, that of k with its 40 days, but the name is com-
or c. The name of the letter is said to
be from French queue=a tail, the form
being that of an O with a tail to it.
As an initial, Q represents the Latin
Quintus in inscriptions or literature; in
geometry, etc., it represents the Latin
quod (=which), as Q. E. D.=quod erat
de7nonstrandtim^=vfhich was to be shown
or proved; Q. E. F.=quod erat facien-
dwm=which was to be done.
monly assigned to the first Sunday in
Lent.
QUADRANGLE, a square or four-
sided court or space surrounded by build-
ings, as often seen in the buildings of a
college, school, etc. In geometry, a fig-
ure having four angles, and consequently
four sides.
QUADRANT, in architecture, the
As a symbol, Q was formerly used for same as Quadrangle (q. v.). In geom
500, and with a dash over it, for 500,000.
QUACKENBOS, JOHN DUNCAN, an
American physician; bom in New York,
N. Y., April 22, 1848; was graduated at
Columbia College in 1868 and at the Col-
lege of Physicians and Surgeons in 1871;
began practice in New York; became Ad-
etry, the fourth part of a circle. Nauti-
cally, an instrument for making angular
measurements. It is now superseded by
the Sextant (g. v.)
QUADRATE BONE, in comparative
anatomy, a bone by means of which the
rami are articulated with the skull in
junct Professor of the English Language birds, reptiles, and fishes (often called
and Literature at Columbia College in the hypotympanic bone).
1884; Professor of Rhetoric in Barnard
College in 1891-1893. He then became
a specialist in mental diseases and lec-
tured extensively on scientific and liter-
ary topics. He wrote "History of the
World"; "History of Ancient Litera-
ture"; Tuberculosis"; "Magnhild"
(1919), etc. A specialist in mental dis-
eases.
QUACKENBUSH, STEPHEN PLATT,
an American naval officer; bom in Al-
bany, N. Y., Jan. 23, 1823; joined the
navy in 1840; promoted lieutenant-com-
mander in 1862; had charge of various
vessels in blockading fleets during the
Civil War; participated in the action at
Elizabeth City and Newbem, N. C, cap-
tured the "Princess Royal" and won dis-
tinction in other operations. He was
retired with the rank of rear-admiral in
1885. He died in Washington, D. C,
Feb. 4, 1890.
QUADER SANDSTONE, a siliceous
QUADRATURE, the state of being
quadrate or square^ a square space. In
astronomy, the position of one heavenly
body with respect to another 90° dis-
tant, as the moon when midway between
the points of opposition and conjunction.
In geometry, the act of squaring; the
reducing of a figure to a square. The
quadrature of the circle is a famous
problem, which has probably been the
subject of more discussion and research
than any other problem within the whole
range of mathematical science.
QUADRATURES, METHODS OF,
any arithmetical method of determining
the area of a curve. When the exact
area is known a square whose area is
equal to it can be found — hence the term
"quadratures." It has been shown (see
Calculus) that the area of a curve
whose equation is ?/=/ (x) is fydx, and
can therefore be found when the integral
can be evaluated. Hence the approxi-
sandstone of Cretaceous age, with many mate determination of the value of a
^ssil shells identical with those of the definite integral is obtainable by the
^.nglish Chalk. method of quadratures.
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