quietus

n.

1. Something that serves to suppress, check, or eliminate.
2. Release from life; death.
3. A final discharge, as of a duty or debt.

[Short for Middle English quietus (est), (he is) discharged (of an obligation), from Medieval Latin quiētus (est), from Latin, (he is) at rest. See quiet.]

(kwy-EE-tuhs)

noun
1. A final stroke that settles something.
2. Discharge from life; death.
3. A release from a duty or debt.

Etymology
Short for Middle English quietus est (he is quit), a formula of discharge from a debt or other obligation, from Medieval Latin quietus est, from Latin, quietus, past participle of quiescere (to rest), from quies (rest, quiet)

The words acquit, quiet, quiescent, acquiesce, are some of the cousins of today's word, all descendants of the same common root.

Usage
"It is not so much that writing provided an escape from the perils of the Revolution, but rather that the Revolution afforded a distraction from his inward soul-wrestling and austere studies and perpetual susceptibility to the lure of an easeful quietus." — Andy Martin, Napoleon on Happiness, Raritan (New Brunswick, New Jersey), Spring 2000.

"The irony is, of course, that the Curse will provide its own quietus and lead me to the peace I have so desperately sought." — Michael Bywater, Not With a Whimper But With a Bang, Independent on Sunday (London, UK), May 19, 1996.

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noun

The act or fact of dying: death, decease, demise, dissolution, extinction, passing, rest¹. Slang curtain (used in plural). See live/die.

Note: click on a word meaning below to see its connections and related words.

The noun has one meaning:

Meaning #1: euphemisms for death (based on an analogy between lying in a bed and in a tomb)
  Synonyms: rest, eternal rest, sleep, eternal sleep

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Dansk (Danish)
n. - død, nådestød

Nederlands (Dutch)
dood, kalmerend middel

Français (French)
n. - quitus

Deutsch (German)
n. - Garaus, Tod, (Schulden)tilgung

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - θάνατος, θανή, αιώνια ανάπαυση, απαλλαγή (από οφειλή, υποχρέωση κ.λπ.)

Italiano (Italian)
quietanza, morte

Português (Portuguese)
n. - quitação (f), morte (f)

Русский (Russian)
кончина, орудие смерти

Español (Spanish)
n. - golpe de gracia, muerte, finiquito

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - död (litt.), nådastöt, slutuppgörelse

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
最后的解除, 生命的终止, 偿清

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 最後的解除, 生命的終止, 償清

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 최후의 일격, 죽음, 무기력 상태

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - とどめ, 消滅, 死

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) تسويه نهائيه, إجهاز, راحه‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮(סם) מרגיע, אי-פעילות, מוות‬

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