Lewis & Short

Parsing inflected forms may not always work as expected. If the following does not give the correct word, try Latin Words or Perseus.

1. quis, quid (old nom. plur. QVES, S. C. Bacch.), pron. interrog. [Sanscr. kis, in nakis = nemo; Gr. τίς], who? which? what? what man? (while qui, quae, quod, interrog. is used adject.; for exceptions, v. qui and infra.
Quis is properly used only of more than two; uter, which of two? v. infra).

  1. I. Masc. and fem. quis; lit.,
    1. A. As subst., in a direct question.
      1. 1. Of males: unde es? cujus es? whose are you? to whom do you belong? Plaut. Truc. 2, 7, 44: Da. Quis homo est? Pa. Ego sum Pamphilus, who is there? Ter. And. 5, 6, 1: quis clarior in Graeciā Themistocle? quis potentior? Cic. Lael. 12, 42; id. de Or. 3, 34, 137: quis Dionem doctrinis omnibus expolivit? non Plato? id. ib. 3, 34, 139.
      2. 2. Quis, of females, as subst. and adj. (ante- and post-class.): et quis illaec est, quae? etc., Enn. ap. Non. 198, 3 (Trag. v. 133 Vahl.): quis tu es mulier, quae? etc., Pac. ap. Non. 197, 33; cf. Varr. L. L. 6, § 60 Müll.: quis ea est, quam? etc., who is she? Plaut. Aul. 2, 1, 48: quis haec est? id. Pers. 2, 2, 18: quis illaec est mulier, quae? etc., id. Ep. 4, 1, 6: sed haec quis mulier est? id. Truc. 1, 1, 76: quis nostrarum fuit, Caecil. ap. Gell. 2, 23: quis haec est simia? Afran. ap. Charis. 1, p. 84.
    2. B. As adj.
      1. 1. Absol., what? i. e. what sort of a person or thing? quis videor? Cha. Miser aeque atque ego, in what state or condition do I seem? what do you think of me now? Ter. And. 4, 2, 19: quis ego sum? aut quae in me est facultas? Cic. Lael. 5, 17.
      2. 2. With nouns.
          1. (α) With words denoting a person (class.): quis eum senator appellavit, Cic. Cat. 2, 6, 12: quis gracilis puer, Hor. C. 1, 5, 1.
          2. (β) In gen. (in Cic. only before a vowel, for qui): quis color, Verg. G. 2, 178: quisve locus, Liv. 5, 40: quod caedis initium? quis finis? Tac. A. 1, 48: quis esset tantus fructus? Cic. Lael. 6, 22.
  2. II. In neutr.
    1. A. Lit.
      1. 1. In simple constr.: quid dicam de moribus facillimis, Cic. Lael. 3, 11: quid est judicium corrumpere, si hoc non est? what is bribing the court, if this be not? id. Verr. 1, 10, 28: quid ais? quid tibi nomen est? Plaut. Am. 1, 1, 208.
      2. 2. With gen. partit., what? i. e. what sort of? what kind of a? quid mulieris Uxorem habes? what sort of a woman have you for a wife? Ter. Hec. 4, 4, 21: quid illuc est hominum secundum litus? what is that knot of people? Plaut. Rud. 1, 2, 60: quid caelati argenti, quid stragulae vestis, quid pictarum tabularum … apud illum putatis esse? Cic. Rosc. Am. 46, 133; cf. esp.: hoc enim, quis homo sit, ostendere est, non quid homo sit, dicere, i. e. to point out an individual, not to define a class, Gell. 4, 1, 12.
      3. 3. Esp. in phrase quid dico? what do I say? in correcting or strengthening the speaker’s own expression: Romae a. d. XIIII. Kal. volumus esse. Quid dico? Volumus? Immo vero cogimur, Cic. Att. 4, 13, 1; id. Fam. 5, 15, 2; id. Mil. 28, 76; id. de Or. 2, 90, 365; id. Lig. 9, 26.
    2. B. Transf.
      1. 1. Quid? how? why? wherefore? quid? tu me hoc tibi mandasse existimas, ut? etc., Cic. Fam. 2, 8, 1: quid hoc? id. Tusc. 1, 11, 25: quid? eundem nonne destituisti? id. Phil. 2, 38, 99: eloquere, quid venisti? why? wherefore? Plaut. Am. 1, 1, 221: sed quid ego argumentor? quid plura disputo? Cic. Mil. 16, 44.
      2. 2. In quid? wherefore? for what? Sen. Ben. 4, 13, 3.
      3. 3. Quid, with particles: quid, quod? what shall be said to this, that? how is it that? and furthermore, moreover, Cic. Sen. 23, 83; id. Off. 3, 25, 94; id. Ac. 2, 29, 95 et saep.: quid ita? why so? id. N. D. 1, 35, 99: quid ni, also in one word, quidni? why not? (in rhet. questions, while cur non expects an answer); always with subj., Ter. Heaut. 5, 1, 34; Cic. de Or. 2, 67, 73; Sen. Tranq. 9, 3; id. Ira, 1, 6, 1; cf. separated: quid ego ni teneam? Plaut. Ps. 2, 2, 57; Ter. Ad. 4, 5, 28; and pleonastically: quid ni non, Sen. Ep. 52: quid si? how if? Caecin. ap. Cic. Fam. 6, 7, 4: quid si illud addimus, Cic. Lael. 14, 50: quid tum? what then? how then? id. Tusc. 2, 11, 26; Verg. A. 4, 543; id. E. 10, 38; Hor. S. 2, 3, 230: quid ergo, ironically, Caes. B. G. 7, 77; Cic. Fam. 9, 15, 14: quid enim, id. Fin. 2, 19, 62; Liv. 20, 9.
  3. III. In indirect discourse: quis sim, ex eo quem ad te misi, cognosces, Sall. C. 44, 5: rogitat quis vir esset, Liv. 1, 7, 9: videbis, quid et quo modo, Cic. Att. 11, 21, 1: quis quem, who … whom? who … the other? considera, quis quem fraudasse dicatur, who is said to have defrauded whom? id. Rosc. Com. 7, 21: quos autem numeros cum quibus misceri oporteat, nunc dicendum est, what … with what? id. Or. 58, 196: notatum in sermone, quid quo modo caderet, Quint. 1, 6, 16.
    Quid with gen.: exponam vobis breviter, quid hominis sit, what sort of a man he is, Cic. Verr. 2, 2, 54, § 134: sciturum, quid ejus sit, what there is in it, how much of it may be true, id. Att. 16, 4, 3.
    Rarely for uter, which of two, whether: incerti quae pars sequenda esset, Liv. 21, 39, 6: proelia de occupando ponte crebra erant, nec qui potirentur, satis discerni poterat, id. 7, 9, 7: ut dii legerent, qui nomen novae urbi daret, id. 1, 6, 4 Weissenb. ad loc.; id. 1, 24, 3; 9, 45, 8; 10, 12, 5; cf.: validior per Germaniam exercitus, propior aput Pannoniam; quos igitur anteferret? Tac. A. 1, 47.

2. quis, quid, pron. indef.

  1. I. As subst.
    1. A. Alone, any one, any body, any thing; some one, somebody, something: aperite, heus! Simoni me adesse, quis nunciate, Plaut. Ps. 5, 1, 37: simplicior quis, et est, etc., Hor. S. 1, 3, 63: quantum quis damni professus erat, Tac. A. 2, 26: quanto quis clarior, id. H. 3, 58: injuriam cui facere, Cic. Fin. 3, 21, 71.
    2. B. In connection with si, ne, nisi, cum: si te in judicium quis adducat, Cic. Phil. 2, 14, 35: ne cui falso assentiamur, id. Fin. 3, 21, 72: si tecum agas quid, id. Off. 1, 2, 4: si quid in te peccavi ignosce, id. Att. 3, 15, 4: si quis quid de re publicā rumore acceperit, Caes. B. G. 6, 20: si quo usui esse posset, Liv. 40, 26, 8: ne quid nimis, Ter. And. 1, 1, 34: nisi quid existimas, etc., Cic. Fam. 13, 73, 2: neve quis invitam cogeret esse suam, Prop. 1, 3, 30: cum quid, Col. 4, 25.
  2. II. As adj.: jam quis forsitan hostis Haesura in nostro tela gerit latere, Tib. 1, 10, 13.