qua

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pronounced kway or kwah, is a somewhat formal word, with the air of philosophy and logic about it, derived from the Latin relative pronoun qui, and is used in English with the meaning 'considered as' or 'in the capacity of' when a person or thing can be regarded in different ways or from different aspects, normally in the sequence 'A qua B' where B defines A more closely:

Dressed in an Armani suit...and espadrilles, he plays a cop qua existential hero—Literary Review, 1989.

In practice qua is used more flexibly, for example in the form 'A qua A' (with the same noun repeated) and in sentences lacking the first noun altogether, as the following examples show:

Look at the sky...What is there so extraordinary about it? Qua sky—Samuel Beckett, 1956

I don't think that 'Hard Times' is a particularly good novel qua novel, whatever it may be as a social document—Broadcast, 1977

'Beings qua being' are not a special class or kind of being; indeed, there are no such things as beings-qua-being at all—J. Barnes, 2000.

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Latin, insofar as, in the capacity of. Commonly needed in philosophy to distinguish the powers or operation of one thing under one aspect as opposed to those under another.

This entry contains information applicable to United States law only.

[Latin, Considered as; in the character or capacity of.] For example, "the trustee qua trustee [that is, in his or her role as trustee] is not liable."

For a list of words related to qua, see:

• Reflections and References
• Latin Words and Phrases - qua: lit. who; in the capacity of; as

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See words rhyming with "qua."

  See crossword solutions for the clue Qua.

Dansk (Danish)
conj. - såsom
prep. - som

Nederlands (Dutch)
qua

Français (French)
conj. - en ce qui concerne, en sa qualité de
prep. - en sa qualité de, (avoir) l'avantage de, (avoir) le mérite de

Deutsch (German)
conj. - (in der Eigenschaft) als, gemäß
prep. - dem Willen gemäß

Ελληνική (Greek)
conj. - (θεωρούμενος) ως, υπό την ιδιότητα του ως

Italiano (Italian)
in quanto a, come, in qualità di

Português (Portuguese)
conj. - como, na qualidade de

Русский (Russian)
в качестве, исполняющий обязанности

Español (Spanish)
conj. - en cuanto a, en su calidad de
prep. - como, en cuanto a, en su calidad de

Svenska (Swedish)
conj. - såsom, i egenskap av

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
以...的资格, 作为...

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
conj., -
prep. - 以...的資格, 作為...

한국어 (Korean)
conj. - ~의 자격으로, ~로서
prep. - ~로서(as)

日本語 (Japanese)
adv. - …として, 資格で

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(حرف عطف) مثل, بمثابه‏

עברית (Hebrew)
conj. - ‮ככזה‬
prep. - ‮כשלעצמו‬

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