# quartering

Pronunciation: US say "KWOR-tur-ing" /ˈk(w)ɔɹ.təɹ.ɪŋ/; UK say "KWAW-tuh-ring" /ˈk(w)ɔː.təɹ.ɪŋ/

## Noun

1. A division of something into four separate parts.
   - Simple: The splitting of something into four equal parts.
   - _The quartering of the estate left each heir with an equal share._
   - _Mapmakers often rely on the quartering of a region into manageable sections._
3. A method of execution in which the condemned person's body is cut into four pieces.
   - Simple: A way of putting someone to death by cutting the body into four parts.
   - _Medieval courts sometimes ordered the quartering of those found guilty of treason._
   - _The quartering followed the hanging, completing a brutal sentence._
4. The provision of lodging for soldiers, especially when forced upon a private citizen's home.
   - Simple: Giving soldiers a place to live, sometimes forced on ordinary people's homes.
   - _The quartering of British regulars became a major grievance before the revolution._
   - _Local families bore the cost of the quartering throughout the occupation._
5. The division of a shield into four or more compartments, each bearing a different coat of arms.
   - Simple: Splitting a coat of arms into four or more sections, each showing a different family's design.
   - _The quartering of the royal arms reflected centuries of dynastic marriages._
   - _Experts studied the quartering to trace the family's lineage._
6. Any one of the several coats of arms arranged on a shield to indicate the bearer's descent.
   - Simple: Each separate coat of arms placed on a shield to show where a family came from.
   - _The first quartering represented the founder of the dynasty._
   - _Scholars identified each quartering by its distinctive emblem._
7. The searching of an area for prey by moving back and forth across it, as a hunting dog runs parallel to the wind to pick up a scent.
   - Simple: The way a hunting dog searches a field by running across the wind to catch a scent.
   - _The pointer's steady quartering covered the moor in a methodical pattern._
   - _Trainers praised the young dog's quartering during the hunt._
11. A series of small upright posts, or quarters, used in construction.
   - Simple: A row of small upright wooden posts used in building a wall.
   - _The old quartering behind the plaster had begun to rot._
   - _Carpenters fixed the laths to the quartering before plastering._
12. In arch construction, the point found by measuring a quarter of the arch's height along the line from its crown down to the outer base.
   - Simple: A point on an arch found by measuring one quarter of the way up from the base toward the top.
   - _The architect calculated the quartering to lay out the arch correctly._
   - _Each quartering had to be marked before the centering was built._
13. An employer's practice of docking a worker a full fifteen minutes' wages for arriving late, however short the delay.
   - Simple: Taking away 15 minutes' pay from a worker who came late, even by just a minute or two.
   - _Mill owners used quartering to punish even a moment's tardiness._
   - _The quartering meant a two-minute delay cost a full quarter-hour's wages._

## Verb

2. Present participle of quarter. — present participle and gerund of quarter
   - Simple: Present participle of quarter. Use this form for the action happening right now.
   - _The chef is quartering tomatoes for the sauce._
   - _Workers were quartering the logs before loading them onto the cart._

## Adjective

8. Of waves or another moving object, approaching from well behind the beam of a ship without coming from dead astern.
   - Simple: Coming from behind and to one side, but not straight from behind. Used for waves or wind.
   - _The ship took the quartering sea on her stern._
   - _Sailors adjusted course to ride the quartering waves more comfortably._
9. Approaching from behind and off to one side, so as to act partly as a crosswind and partly as a tailwind.
   - Simple: Coming from behind and to one side, so it pushes both sideways and forward.
   - _A quartering tailwind complicated the approach to the short runway._
   - _The crew braced for the quartering wind on touchdown._
10. Set at a right angle to each other, as with locomotive cranks that lie in perpendicular planes.
   - Simple: Set at right angles to each other, like the cranks on a steam locomotive.
   - _The quartering cranks ensured that one piston always had turning force._
   - _Mechanics realigned the quartering drive after the overhaul._

## Origin

Formed in English from the word "quarter" combined with the suffix "-ing".

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/quartering (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).