A 'quarry' is where stonesaremade square — from Latin 'quadrare' (to square), from 'quattuor' (four).
Definition
A place, typically a large, deep pit, from which stone or other materials are or have been extracted. Also: an animal or person being hunted or pursued (a separate etymology).
The Full Story
Latin via French14th centurywell-attested
English "quarry" has two distinct origins. The stone-extraction sense comes from Anglo-Norman "quarrere," from Old French "quarriere" (modern French "carrière"), from Vulgar Latin *quadrāria ("a place where stones are squared"), from Latin "quadrāre" ("to make square"), from "quadrus" ("square"), from "quattuor" ("four"), from PIE *kʷetwóres ("four"). ThePIE root producedSanskrit "catvā́raḥ," Greek "τέσσαρες" (téssares), Old Irish "cethir," Gothic "fidwor," and Old English "fēower" (yielding modern "four"). The
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English has two completely unrelated wordsspelled 'quarry.' The stone-pit 'quarry' comes from Latin 'quadrāre' (to square) — a place where stones are cut into blocks. The hunted-animal 'quarry' comes from Old French 'cuirée' (the entrails placed on the hide for the
in Middle English by the 15th century. The two homonyms — one from "four" and one from "cut" — remain completely unrelated despite sharing a modern form. Key roots: quadrāre (Latin: "to make square"), *kʷetwóres (Proto-Indo-European: "four").