quietus

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The Word of the Day for November 16 is:

quietus   \kwy-EE-tus\   noun 
     1 : final settlement (as of a debt) 
     2 : removal from activity; especially : death 
    *3 : something that quiets or represses 

Example sentence:
     "The constant rain and the cold have combined to put a quietus on outdoor 
activities." (Glenn Tucker, quoted in the _Bangor Daily News_ [Maine], Oct. 10, 
2005)

Did you know?
     In the early 1500s, English speakers adopted the Medieval Latin phrase 
"quietus est" (literally "he is quit") as the name for the writ of discharge 
exempting a baron or knight from payment of a knight's fee to the king. The 
expression was later shortened to "quietus" and applied to the termination of 
any debt. William Shakespeare was the first to use "quietus" as a metaphor for 
the termination of life in his tragedy _Hamlet_: "For who would bear the whips 
and scorns of time, ... When he himself might his quietus make / With a bare 
bodkin?" The third meaning, which is more influenced by "quiet" than "quit," 
appeared in the 19th century. It often occurs in the phrase "put the quietus 
on" (as in our example sentence).

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.