Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)
Quit \Quit\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Quit} or {Quitted}; p. pr. &
vb. n. {Quitting}.] [OE. quiten, OF. quiter, quitier,
cuitier, F. quitter, to acquit, quit, LL. quietare, fr. L.
quietare to calm, to quiet, fr. quietus quiet. See {Quiet},
a., and cf. {Quit}, a., {Quite}, {Acquit}, {Requite}.]
1. To set at rest; to free, as from anything harmful or
oppressive; to relieve; to clear; to liberate. [R.]
To quit you of this fear, you have already looked
Death in the face; what have you found so terrible
in it? --Wake.
2. To release from obligation, accusation, penalty, or the
like; to absolve; to acquit.
There may no gold them quyte. --Chaucer.
God will relent, and quit thee all his debt.
--Milton.
3. To discharge, as an obligation or duty; to meet and
satisfy, as a claim or debt; to make payment for or of; to
requite; to repay.
The blissful martyr quyte you your meed. --Chaucer.
Enkindle all the sparks of nature To quit this
horrid act. --Shak.
Before that judge that quits each soul his hire.
--Fairfax.
4. To meet the claims upon, or expectations entertained of;
to conduct; to acquit; -- used reflexively.
Be strong, and quit yourselves like men. --I Sam.
iv. 9.
Samson hath guit himself Like Samson. --Milton.
5. To carry through; to go through to the end. [Obs.]
Never worthy prince a day did quit With greater
hazard and with more renown. --Daniel.
6. To have done with; to cease from; to stop; hence, to
depart from; to leave; to forsake; as, to quit work; to
quit the place; to quit jesting.
Such a superficial way of examining is to quit truth
for appearance. --Locke.
{To quit cost}, to pay; to reimburse.
{To quit scores}, to make even; to clear mutually from
demands.
Does not the earth quit scores with all the elements
in the noble fruits that issue from it? --South.
Syn: To leave; relinquish; resign; abandon; forsake;
surrender; discharge; requite.
Usage: {Quit}, {Leave}. Leave is a general term, signifying
merely an act of departure; quit implies a going
without intention of return, a final and absolute
abandonment.