quarter

This entry does not include terms containing quarter as an adjective, such as quartersection, quarter hour, quarter note, and so on.

1

In Britain and many other English-speaking areas, a unit of mass, = 28 pounds, one fourth of a hundredweight.

2

In Britain, ? – 1985, a unit of capacity = 8 bushels, probably originally one fourth of a wey, which was about the capacity of a medieval wagon. In any case, the quarter long survived the wey. After the act establishing imperial measure in 1824, = 8 imperial bushels, about 10.275 cubic feet (about 290.9 liters). The Weights and Measures Act of 1985 made the quarter no longer legal in trade.

3

In the United States, a school term approximately 12 weeks long, one fourth of an academic year.

4

In the United States, a quarter dollar, = 25 cents.

5

In the United States,

a long quarter, ¼th of a long ton, = 560 pounds
a short quarter, ¼th of a short ton, = 500 pounds.

6

Before 15th century – present, a unit of length = a quarter of a yard. In the United States, this unit survives mainly in the language of quilters, especially in the term “fat quarter,” a piece of fabric the width it was woven and somewhat more than a fourth of a yard long, i.e., cut generously.