quidam

English

Etymology

From Latin quīdam.

Noun

quidam (plural quidams)

1. A nobody; a person of no importance. [from 16th c.]
   • 1603, John Florio, translating Michel de Montaigne, Essays, III.12:

     A quidam gallant determined upon a time to surprise both my house and my selfe.

   • 1792, Thomas Holcroft, Anna St. Ives, vol. IV, letter 77:

     She singing a miserable ditty, a bead-roll of lamentable rhymes, strung together by this Quidam!—This Henley!

French

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ki.dam/

• Audio

  (file)

Noun

quidam m (plural quidams)

1. Used to designate persons whose name are unknown or not mentioned
2. Person whose identity is not indicated, in a conversation, a writing
3. individual

Further reading

• “quidam”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Latin

Etymology

From quī +‎ -dam (demonstrative ending).

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /ˈkʷiː.dam/, [ˈkʷiːd̪ä̃ˑ]
• (Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈkwi.dam/, [ˈkwiːd̪äm]

Pronoun

quīdam (feminine quaedam, neuter quiddam); relative/interrogative pronoun (with m optionally → n in compounds) with an indeclinable portion

1. someone, a certain one/thing; something

   Quidam vitiis gloriantur.

   Some people boast with their vices. (Seneca, Epistulae ad Luculium, III,28)

Usage notes

Not to be confused with quidem.

Declension

Relative/interrogative pronoun (with m optionally → n in compounds) with an indeclinable portion.

Number	Singular				Plural
Case / Gender	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter		Masculine	Feminine	Neuter
Nominative	quīdam	quaedam	quiddam		quīdam1	quaedam
Genitive	cuiusdam1				quōrundam quōrumdam	quārundam quārumdam	quōrundam quōrumdam
Dative	cuidam1				quibusdam quīsdam1
Accusative	quendam	quandam	quiddam		quōsdam	quāsdam	quaedam
Ablative	quōdam	quādam	quōdam		quibusdam quīsdam1

¹In Republican Latin or earlier, alternative spellings could be found for the following forms of quī/quis and its compounds: the masculine nominative singular or plural quī (old spelling quei), the genitive singular cuius (old spelling quoius), the dative singular cui (old spelling quoi or quoiei), the dative/ablative plural quīs (old spelling queis).

Adjective

quīdam (feminine quaedam, neuter quoddam); relative/interrogative pronoun (with m optionally → n in compounds) with an indeclinable portion

1. Certain (person or thing), some (person or thing), one [in the sense of "a specific"] (person or thing not previously introduced in the present discourse).

Declension

Relative/interrogative pronoun (with m optionally → n in compounds) with an indeclinable portion.

Number	Singular				Plural
Case / Gender	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter		Masculine	Feminine	Neuter
Nominative	quīdam	quaedam	quoddam		quīdam1	quaedam
Genitive	cuiusdam1				quōrundam quōrumdam	quārundam quārumdam	quōrundam quōrumdam
Dative	cuidam1				quibusdam quīsdam1
Accusative	quendam quemdam	quandam quamdam	quoddam		quōsdam	quāsdam	quaedam
Ablative	quōdam	quādam	quōdam		quibusdam quīsdam1

¹In Republican Latin or earlier, alternative spellings could be found for the following forms of quī/quis and its compounds: the masculine nominative singular or plural quī (old spelling quei), the genitive singular cuius (old spelling quoius), the dative singular cui (old spelling quoi or quoiei), the dative/ablative plural quīs (old spelling queis).

See also

Latin correlatives ^(edit)

type	interrogative	indefinite	(medial) demonstrative	proximal demonstrative	distal demonstrative	relative	indefinite relative	identity	other
basic	quis, quī	quis, quī, quīdam, aliquis, aliquī, quisque, quisquam, aliquisquam, quispiam, ūllus	is, iste, istic	hic	ille, illic	quī	quisquis, quīcumque	ipse, īdem	alter, alius
dual	uter	alteruter, uterque				uter	utercumque
number	quot	aliquot	tot			quot	quotquot, quotcumque	totidem
order	quotus		totus			quotus	quotuscumque
quantity	quam	aliquam	tam			quam	†quamquam	†tamen, †tandem
size	quantus	aliquantus	tantus			quantus	quantuscumque	tantusdem
quality	quālis	aliquālis	tālis			quālis	quālis, quāliscumque
manner	ut, quī, quō modō, quōmodo, quemadmodum	utique, quī, quōdam modō, aliquō modō	ita, sic, eō/istō modō	hōc modō	illō modō	ut, quī, quō modō, quōmodo, quemadmodum	utut, utcumque, quōmodocumque	item, itidem	aliter, aliōquī, alterō/aliō modō
method, path, place	quā	aliquā, quāque	eā, istāc	hāc	illāc	quā	quāquā, quācumque	eādem	aliā
place	ubi	alicubi, ubique, usquam, uspiam	ibi, istic	hīc	illīc	ubi	ubiubi, ubicumque	ibidem	alibī, aliās
source	unde	alicunde, undeunde	inde, istinc	hinc	illinc	unde	undecumque	indidem	aliunde
destination	quō, quōrsum	aliquō, quōquam, quōpiam, °aliquōvorsum	eō, istūc, °istōrsum	hūc, °hōrsum	illūc, °illōrsum	quō	quōquō, quōcumque	eōdem	aliō, aliorsum
time	quandō	quondam, aliquandō, quandōque, umquam	tum, tunc	num, nunc	ōlim	cum, quandō	cumque, quandōcumque, quandōque	simul	aliās
exact time	quota hōra		ea/ista hōra	hac hōra	illa hōra	quota hōra	quotacumque hōra	eadem hōra	altera/alia hōra
repetition	quotiēns	aliquotiēns	totiēns			quotiēns	quotiēnscumque
multiplication	quotuplex		totuplex			quotuplex
† Turned conjunction with original meaning somewhat dissimulated ° Rare

References

• “quidam”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “quidam”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• quidam in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)
• quidam in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette
• Carl Meißner; Henry William Auden (1894) Latin Phrase-Book‎^[1], London: Macmillan and Co.
  • I have a few words to say on this: mihi quaedam dicenda sunt de hac re