Word for Wednesday: Quiet

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Our Word for Wednesday theme for 2023 is tricky spelling words. This year, after sharing the definition and etymology of each week’s word, we will end every blog post with some tips and tricks to help you spell it.

So far we've looked at the words beginning, believe, and friend. Our final tricky spelling word for January is quiet

Quiet is the absence of sound. The word is often used to describe things that are calm, still, or silent. 

Here is quiet used in some example sentences:

  • The teacher asked the class to be quiet. 
  • We heard the hum of quiet talking.
  • There was a quiet stillness after the storm. 

The word dates to around 1300 and comes from the Old French ‘quiete’ which in turn comes from the Latin ‘quies’.

There are a few reasons why quiet can be a difficult word to spell: the qu at the beginning, the ie in the middle, and the fact that it sounds similar to the word quite. However, one quick way to make sure you never spell it wrong again is to use the following mnemonic: Quiet: Understand It Ends Talking.

Learn more about spelling qu words in Unit 3 and words ending in -et in Unit 32.


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25 Jan 2023
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