Quarterback

How to spell quarterback

11 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce quarterback

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does quarterback mean?

1. nounIn American and Canadian football, the offensive player who receives the snap and directs the team's plays.
2. verbTo organise, lead, or direct a coordinated effort or operation.

Quarterback in a sentence

• noun

  The quarterback threw a long pass into the end zone.

• verb

  She was asked to quarterback the entire product launch.

• noun

  Their star quarterback signed a record contract this season.

• verb

  A senior partner will quarterback the merger negotiations.

Where does quarterback come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This is a thoroughly American sporting coinage, built from two ordinary English elements: quarter and back. The first part traces back through Old French quartier to the Latin quartus, meaning 'a fourth', while back descends from the Old English bæc, the word for the rear of the body or the rear of anything. In the early codes of American football the field positions behind the forward line were described by how far back they stood, giving rise to the fullback, the halfback and, closest to the line of scrimmage, the quarterback, a term recorded from the 1870s. The role grew into the player who receives the snap and directs the offence, so the word soon picked up a figurative life meaning to organise or lead a coordinated effort. Because both halves are familiar everyday words joined without any awkward join, the spelling rarely trips anyone up.

How the word is built

• quarter (from Latin quartus, a fourth)
• back (positional term from Old English bæc)