qua

Also found in: Legal, Acronyms, Idioms, Wikipedia.

qua

(kwā, kwä)

prep.

In the capacity or character of; as: The president qua head of the party mediated the dispute.

[Latin quā, feminine ablative sing. of quī, who; see k^wo- in Indo-European roots.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

qua

(kweɪ; kwɑː)

prep

in the capacity of; by virtue of being

[C17: from Latin, ablative singular (feminine) of qui who]

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

qua

(kwā, kwä),
adv.

as; as being; in the character or capacity of: The work of art qua art can be judged by aesthetic criteria only.

[1640–50; < Latin quā (viā) literally, by which (way) or quā (parte) by which (part)]

Translations

come in quanto

qua

[kweɪ] PREP (frm) → en cuanto, como
let us consider man qua animal → consideremos al hombre en cuanto animal

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

qua

adv → als

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

qua

[kwɑː] prep (frm) → in quanto

Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

References in classic literature ?

The reason is that the original statement was inaccurate, for the wing is not said to be relative to the bird qua bird, since many creatures besides birds have wings, but qua winged creature.

If we define a rudder as necessarily having reference to a boat, our definition will not be appropriate, for the rudder does not have this reference to a boat qua boat, as there are boats which have no rudders.

View in context

Noel Vanstone (after submitting himself to the sine qua non, and destroying the letter) waited anxiously for results; while Mrs.

(if the classical phrase might be pardoned) a sine qua non.

View in context

"Di qua," said one of the men, descending a little path leading out of the Appian Way.

View in context

Nordau and Lombroso would so classify him, and qua criminal he is of an imperfectly formed mind.

View in context

One condition was imposed as a sine qua non upon every candidate for admission into the association, and that was the condition of having designed, or (more or less) perfected a cannon; or, in default of a cannon, at least a firearm of some description.

View in context

It is said that Deucalion and Pyrrha created men by throwing stones over their heads behind them:-- Inde genus durum sumus, experiensque laborum, Et documenta damus qua simus origine nati.

View in context

Becky screamed with laughter--"Un biglietto," she sang out with Rosina, "eccolo qua!"--the whole house echoed with her shrill singing.

View in context

My dear Bunny, they're capital, not only qua verses but for crystallizing your subject and putting it in a nutshell.

View in context

We put a great focus on individualisation at Qua Spa.

Five minutes with: Ayuko Suzuki

Trying to explain himself, the teacher asked back if the woman had known what the student had said to him, in which she replied, 'yes, ah qua (effeminate).'