Definition of quotidian

The word "quotidian" originates from the Latin word "quotiidiānus," which means "daily" or "of every day." The word was originally coined by the Roman poet Ovid in his work "Metamorphoses." In Latin, a word's ending can convey grammatical or conceptual information about it. In this case, the "-ianus" suffix at the end of "quotiidiānus" is a variant of "-ius" that's used to form adjectives from nouns describing time intervals. The "-dī" in "quotiidiānus" indicates the daily interval. The word "quotidian" first became popular in English during the Renaissance, as scholars and humanists brought back many Latin words and their meanings through their studies of classical texts. It started to appear in English texts around the mid-16th century, and by the 17th century, it was widely used in literary works. The meaning of the word has evolved over time. Initially, it simply meant "daily" or "occurring every day," but later it came to represent the mundane or ordinary aspects of life that happen every day. In this sense, "quotidian" is used as an antonym to "unusual," "extraordinary," or "exceptional." Today, the word "quotidian" is still widely used in various contexts, including scientific, literary, and philosophical fields, where it is employed to convey concepts related to everyday occurrences, such as quotidian events, quotidian activities, or quotidian routines.