QUIT, pret. and pp. quit or quitted. L. cedo. The sense of quit is to leave, to withdraw from but the primary sense of the root must have been to move or to send for to requite is to send back.
1. To leave to depart from, either temporarily or forever. It does not necessarily include the idea of abandoning, without a qualifying word. A man quits his house for an hour, or for a month. He quits his native country on a voyage or he quits it forever he quits an employment with the intention of resuming it.
2. To free to clear to liberate to discharge from.
To quit you of this fear, you have already looked death in the face. Nearly obsolete.
3. To carry through to do or perform something to the end, so that nothing remains to discharge or perform completely.
Never a worthy prince a day did quit with greater hazard and with more renown.
4. To quit one's self, reciprocally, to clear one's self of incumbent duties by full performance.
Samson hath quit himself like Samson.
In this sense, acquit is generally used.
5. To repay to requite.
- Enkindle all the sparks of nature to quit this horrid act.
In this sense, quit is now rarely used. We use requite.
6. To vacate obligation to release to free from
Dangers of law, actions, decrees, judgments against us quitted.
7. To pay to discharge hence, to free from as, to quit the debt of gratitude.
8. To set free to release to absolve to acquit.
Guiltless I quit, guilty I set them free. In this sense, acquit is now used.
9. To leave to give up to resign to relinquish as, to quit an office.
10. To pay.
Before that judge that quits each soul his hire. Not used.
11. To forsake to abandon.
Such a superficial way of examining is to quit truth for appearance.
To quit cost, to pay to free from by an equivalent to reimburse as, the cultivation of barren land will not always quit cost.
To quit scores, to make even to clear mutually from demands by mutual equivalents given. We will quit scores marks of charges before we part.
Does not the earth quit scores with all the elements in her noble fruits?
QUIT, a. Free clear discharged from absolved.
The owner of the ox shall be quit. Exodus 21 . This word, though primarily a participle, and never placed before its noun, has properly the sense of an adjective.
Qui tam, L. A qui tam action, in law, is a popular action, in which a man prosecutes an offender for the king or state, as well as for himself.