O'Neill, including The Iceman Cometh (1956), Long Day’s Journey into Night (1956), and A Moon for the Misbegotten (1973, Tony Award).
Quintilian Latin Marcus Fabius Quintilianus (b. ad 35, Calagur- ris Nassica, Hispania Tarraconensis—d. after 96, Rome) Latin teacher and writer. Quintilian was probably educated and trained in oratory in Rome. From about 68 to 88 he taught rhetoric, becoming Rome’s leading teacher, and was an eminent advocate in the law courts. His Institutio oratoria is a practical survey of rhetoric in 12 books and a major contribution to edu¬ cational theory and literary criticism. His dual emphasis on intellectual and moral training appealed to humanists of the 15th—16th centuries and through them influenced the modern view of education as all-around char¬ acter training to equip a student for life.
Quirino \ke-'re-no\, Elpidio (b. Nov. 16, 1890, Vigan, Phil.—d. Feb. 28, 1956, Novaliches) Second president of the independent Republic of the Philippines. Quirino served in numerous elected and appointed posts in the Philippines prior to independence. In 1934 he accompanied Man¬ uel Quezon to the U.S. to secure passage of the Tydings-McDuffie Act, which set a date for Philippine independence. He became vice president to Manuel Roxas after independence, succeeding to the presidency on Roxas’s death in 1948. Quirino’s presidency (1948-53) was one of notable postwar reconstruction and economic gains, but social problems remained unsolved (leading to the Hukbalahap Rebellion), and government corruption was widespread.
Quirinus \kw3-'ri-n9s\ Major Roman deity ranking close to Jupiter and Mars. Th t famines (see flamen) of these three gods were the three major priests of Rome. Despite his importance, little is known about Quirinus, who was originally a god of the Sabines. He may have been another form of Mars. By the late republic he was identified with Romulus. His festi¬ val, the Quirinalia, was celebrated on February 17, and his temple was one of the oldest in Rome.
Quisling, Vidkun (Abraham Lauritz Jonsson) (b. July 18, 1887, Fyresdal, Nor.—d. Oct. 24, 1945, Akershus Fortress, Oslo) Nor¬ wegian politician and collaborator with the Germans in World War II. After serving as military attache in Petrograd and Helsinki, he became Norway’s minister of defense in 1931. He resigned in 1933 to form the fascist National Union party. He actively collaborated in the German con¬ quest of Norway (1940) and served in the occupation government. His attempts to convert Norwegians to National Socialism aroused strong opposition. After Norway’s liberation, he was found guilty of treason and executed. His name became a synonym for “traitor.”
Quito \'ke-to\ City (pop., 2001: 1,399,378), capital of Ecuador. The city lies at an elevation of 9,350 ft (2,850 m) on the lower slopes of Pichincha, an active volcano, in a narrow valley of the Andes Mountains. A pre- Columbian town, it was captured by the Inca in 1487 and taken by the Spanish in 1534. It is the oldest of all South American capitals, and its old town preserves much of its colonial atmosphere. In 1552 the Franciscans established an art school there, the first of its kind in South America. One of Ecuador’s two major industrial centres, it produces textiles and light consumer goods. It is the site of several institutions of higher learning. The old town was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1978.
quiz show See game show
Qumran \kum-'ran\ Site on the northwestern shore of the Dead Sea where the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered in 1947. Excavations less than a mile from the sea have revealed the ruins of buildings believed by some scholars to have been occupied by Essenes, the probable authors of the scrolls. The buildings include a scriptorium, a potter’s workshop, and a flour mill; water was supplied through an aqueduct. The Essenes are thought to have founded a monastic community at Qumran in the mid- 2nd century bc. They temporarily abandoned the settlement after an earth¬ quake and fire in 31 bc but later returned and lived there until Roman legions destroyed the community in ad 68.
quoin Vkoin, 'kw6in\ In architecture, both the external corner of a build¬ ing and, more often, one of the stones used to form that comer. These stones are both structural and decorative in that they often differ in joint¬ ing, colour, texture, or size from the masonry of the adjoining walls. Usu¬ ally quoins are toothed (i.e., set in short courses in a regular pattern of alternating lengths). Such construction dates back to ancient Rome.
quoits \'koits, 'kwoits\ Game in which flattened rings of iron or circles of rope (both called quoits) are thrown at an upright pin (hob) in an
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quota ► Qyzylqum I 1579
attempt to ring it or come as near to it as possible. Quoits may have been played in Roman-occupied Britain (1st—5th century ad), and it may have given rise to horseshoe pitching.
quota In international trade, a government-imposed limit on the quan¬ tity of goods and services that may be exported or imported over a speci¬ fied period of time. Quotas are more effective than tariffs in restricting trade, since they limit the availability of goods rather than simply increas¬ ing their price. By limiting foreign goods, a quota aims to allow domes¬ tic goods to compete more successfully, though the price of the goods may also rise. Quotas restricting trade were first imposed on a large scale dur¬ ing World War I. In the 1920s, quotas were progressively abolished and replaced by tariffs, but their use was revived in the wave of protectionism set off by the Great Depression. After World War II, the western European countries began a gradual dismantling of quantitative import restrictions, but the U.S. was slower to discard them. See also free trade; GATT.
quotient rule Rule for finding the derivative of a quotient of two func¬ tions. If both/and g are differentiable, then so is the quotient f(x)/g(x). In abbreviated notation, it says (fig)' = (gf -fg')/g 2 .
Quqon See Qo'qon
Qur’an \ku-'ran\ or Koran \ko-'ran, ko'ranX Sacred scripture of Islam, regarded by Muslims as the infallible word of God, revealed to the Prophet Muhammad. The book, first compiled in its authoritative form in the 7th century, consists of 114 chapters (sGrahs) of varying length, written in Arabic. The earliest surahs call for moral and religious obedience in light of the coming Day of Judgment; the ones written later provide directives for the creation of a social structure that will support the moral life called for by God. The Qur’an also provides detailed accounts of the joys of paradise and the terrors of hell. Muslims believe that the God who spoke to Muhammad is the God worshiped by Jews and Christians but that the revelations received by those religions are incomplete. Emphasis on the stem justice of God is tempered by frequent references to his mercy and compassion. The Qur’an demands absolute submission ( islam ) to God and his word, and it serves as the primary source of Islamic law. It is regarded as immutable in both form and content; traditionally translation was for¬ bidden. The translations available today are regarded as paraphrases to facilitate understanding of the actual scripture.
qurra \ku-'ra\ Professional class of reciters of the Qur’an. Muhammad’s early disciples often memorized his divine revelations, and even after the Qur’an was assembled in written form, it was common for pious Muslims to memorize it in its entirety. Such reciters were often called on by schol¬ ars to elucidate points of pronunciation and meaning, and by the 9th cen¬ tury they formed an established class. Religious men employed in mosques still memorize the Qur’an to aid them in interpreting its revela¬ tions to the faithful. In some Arab countries the professional duties of reciting the Qur’an are usually reserved for blind men.