List of English words containing Q not followed by U

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Six rows of black square keys with white letters, numbers, and symbols on them slope from the top left to the bottom right with a metallic strip in the top right corner.
QWERTY, one of the few native English words with Q not followed by U, is derived from the first six letters of a standard keyboard layout.
Arabic
origin.

In

ك, traditionally romanised as K; for example, ”قلب” /qalb/ means "heart" but “ كلب ” /kalb/ means "dog". However, alternative spellings are sometimes accepted, which use K (or sometimes C) in place of Q; for example, Koran (Qur'ān) and Cairo
(al-Qāhira).

Of the words in this list, most are (or can be) interpreted as nouns, and most would generally be considered loanwords.[1] However, all of the loanwords on this list are considered to be naturalised in English according to at least one major dictionary (see References), often because they refer to concepts or societal roles that do not have an accurate equivalent in English. For words to appear here, they must appear in their own entry in a dictionary; words that occur only as part of a longer phrase are not included.

QinetiQ (a British technology company).[6][7] Saqqara (an ancient burial ground in Egypt)[8]
is a proper noun notable for its use of a double Q.

Words

Unless noted otherwise, all words listed here are assumed to be pluralized by adding -s or -es. References in the "Sources" column relate to the headword in column one; variant spellings are then separately referenced. The sources given are selective, and the absence of a reference to a particular dictionary does not necessarily mean that the word does not appear in that dictionary.

In American and Canadian English, there are currently 4,422 words with Q not followed by U including the following words in the table below.

Word Meaning Sources Other forms Etymology
bianqing An ancient Chinese percussion instrument [MW] Chinese: 編磬
buqsha A former Yemeni monetary unit [L] Also written bogache
Arabic
burqa A veiled garment worn by some
Muslim
women
[ODE][LC][C][AHC][OED] Also written burka, burkha, or burqua
Arabic
burqu`
cinq The number
five
, as signified in dice or cards
[ODE][COD][OED] French cinq 'five'
cinqfoil A plant of the genus Potentilla, or an ornamental design thereof [SOED][OED] Much more commonly written cinquefoil Middle English, from Latin quinquefolium, from quinque 'five' + folium 'leaf'
coq A trimming of cock feathers on a woman's hat [WI] French coq 'cockerel'
faqih
An Islamic jurisprudent [RHW] Plural faqihs or fuqaha [RHU]
Arabic
فَقِيه
faqir
A
Muslim
ascetic
[L] More commonly written fakir
Arabic
فَقِير 'poverty-stricken'
fiqh
Muslim
jurisprudence
[ODE]
Arabic
فِقْه 'understanding'
inqilab A revolution in India or Pakistan [C]
Arabic
إِنْقِلَاب
jelq
Manual penis enlargement exercise Is also a verb. Derived words include jelqs, jelqed and jelqing Persian جلق 'masturbation, onanism'
mbaqanga A style of South African music [ODE][C][W] Zulu umbaqanga 'steamed maize bread'
miqra
The Tanakh, or Hebrew text of the Bible [WI] Hebrew מקרא
muqaddam A Bangladeshi or Punjabi headman [C]
Arabic
مُقَدَّم
nastaliq
An Arabic script used in Persian writings [OED] Also written nasta'liq [C], nestaliq [OED], nastaleeq, or shortened to just taliq [OED] Persian نستعليق, from naskh + ta`liq
niqab
A veil for the lower-face worn by some
Muslim
women
[ODE] Also written niqaab From
Arabic
نِقَاب
nuqta Diacritic mark Also written nukta
pontacq A sweet wine from Pontacq (France) [OED] French
q Q or q, the 17th letter of the modern English alphabet [MW] Greek or Latin
qabab A dish consisting of pieces of seasoned meat [OED] More commonly written kebab, kebap, kebob, kibob, kebhav, kephav, kebabie, or kabob Persian کباب
qabalah A form of Jewish mysticism [C][AHC][WI] More commonly written Kabbalah, and also written Qabala [AHC], Qabbala [WI], Cabalah etc. Derived words include qabalism, qabalist, and qabalistic. Hebrew קַבָּלָה
qadarite
A member of the Qadariyah [RHU]
qadariyah In Islam, adherents of the doctrine of free will [RHU] Also written Qadariya [RHU]
qaddish In Judaism, a prayer of mourning [C] More commonly written Kaddish
Hebrew
קדיש
qadi A
Muslim
judge
[L][C][W][OED][AOX] Also written qadhi [OED], qaadi, kadi, kazi qaadee or qazi [OED]
Arabic
قَاضِى
qadiriyah
In Islam, a Sufi order [RHU] Also written Qadiriya [RHU]
Arabic
القَادِرِيَّة
qaf
ق‎, the twenty-first letter of the Arabic alphabet [RHW] Also written qaph or qap
Arabic
قَاف
qaid A
Muslim
tribal chief
[RHW] Also written caid or kaid
Arabic
قَائِد, 'leader', 'commander'
qaimaqam
A minor official of the Ottoman Empire [C][OED] Also written kaymakam, kaimakam, caimacam, or qaim makam From
Arabic
قَائِم 'standing' + مَقَام 'place', meaning 'standing in place'
qalamdan A Persian writing-case [C] Persian قلمدان
qalandar A member of an order of mendicant dervishes [RHU] Also written calender, or capitalised
qanat A type of water-supply tunnel found in north Africa and the Middle East [ODE][C][OED][AOX] Also written kanat, khanat, kunut, kona, konait, ghanat, or ghundat
Arabic
qanāt 'channel'
qanun
A type of harp [OED] Also written qanon or kanun [OED]
Arabic
قَانُون, rule, principle or mode
qasida An Arabian poem of praise or satire [C][OED][AOX] Also written qasidah
Arabic
قَصِيدَة
qat A kind of Arabian shrub used as a narcotic [L][C][OED] More commonly written khat, kat or gat
Arabic
qāt
qawwal
A person who practices qawwali music [ODE][C][AOX]
qawwali Devotional music of the Sufis [ODE][C][AOX]
Arabic
قوَّالِي (qawwāli) 'loquacious' or 'singer'
Qazaq
Variant spelling of the people of Kazakhstan [OED] More commonly spelled
Kazakh
.
qere
A marginal reading in the Hebrew Bible [OED][WI] Also written qeri [WI] or qre [WI]
Aramaic
קְרֵי, '[what is] read'
qhat An obsolete spelling of what [OED] Likely of Scots origin, in which an older spelling convention used "quh-" or "qh-" where English had "wh-".[9]
qheche An obsolete spelling of which [OED]
qhom An obsolete spelling of whom [OED]
qhythsontyd
An obsolete spelling of Whitsuntide (the day of Pentecost) [OED]
qi In
Chinese culture
, a physical life force
[ODE][C][AHC][OED] Commonly written chi or ki simplified Chinese: ; traditional Chinese:
qiana A type of nylon [OED] Originally a trademark of DuPont, now generic
qibla The point to which
Muslims
turn in prayer
[ODE][COD][C][OED][AOX] Also written qiblah [OED], kiblah, qiblih, kibla or qib'lah [RHU], sometimes capitalised 17th-century
Arabic
for 'the opposite'
qibli
A local Libyan name for the sirocco, a southeasterly Mediterranean wind [OED] Also written ghibli
Arabic قِبلي, "coming from the qibla
qid Four times a day [MW] Latin quater in die
qigong A Chinese system of medical exercises [ODE][C][AOX] Also written chi gong, ki gong, or chi kung simplified Chinese: 气功; traditional Chinese: 氣功
qin A classification of Chinese musical instruments [AOX] Chinese:
qinah A Hebrew elegy [WI] Also written kinah; plural qinot, qinoth and qindarkë
Hebrew
קינה
qindar
An Albanian unit of currency, equal to one one-hundredth of a lek [ODE][L][C] Plural qindarka [L] or qindars [C]. Also written qintar [L][C][AOX] or quintal Albanian
qing A Chinese chime [MW] Also written as: ch'ing Chinese:
qinghaosu
A drug, artemisinin, used to treat malaria [C] Chinese: 青蒿素
qingsongite A rare mineral found in China. Plural qingsongites named after geologist Qingsong Fang
qinter An Albanian money system [OED] Albanian
qipao
A traditional Chinese dress [OED] Also written chi pao Chinese: 旗袍
qiran A currency of Iran between 1825 and 1932 [MW] Also written as: kran Persian qrān
qirsh
A monetary unit of Saudi Arabia and, formerly, various other countries [RHU] Also written qurush, qursh, gursh, girsh or ghirsh
qiviut The wool of the
musk-ox
[OED]
Inuktitut
ᕿᕕᐅᖅ
qiyas An analogy in Sharia, Islamic law [RHW]
Arabic
قِيَاس
qoph The nineteenth letter of the Hebrew alphabet [L][C] Also written koph Hebrew קוף
qorma A type of curry [Co] Much more commonly written korma PersianUrdu قورمه
QWERTY A standard English keyboard layout [ODE][COD][LC][C][AOX][OED] Plural qwertys or qwerties; also rendered QWERTY Named after the first letters on the top row of the QWERTY keyboard layout.
Qyrghyz Variant spelling of the people of Kyrgyzstan [MW] More commonly spelled Kyrgyz.
rencq An obsolete spelling of rank [OED]
sambuq A type of dhow, a small Arabian boat [OED]
Arabic
سَنْبُوك
sheqel A unit of weight originally used in Mesopotamia. The currency of Israel, divided into 100 agorot [MW] Plural sheqels or sheqalim; more commonly written shekel Hebrew שקל,
Yiddish ניי-שקל
souq
An Arab marketplace [ODE][C][OED][AOX] Also written sooq, soq, suq, souk, esouk, or suk
Arabic
سُوق (sūq)
talaq
A form of Islamic divorce [ODE][C][OED]
Arabic
طَلَاق (talāq), from talaqa 'repudiate'
taluq
An Indian estate [OED] Also written taluk or talook
Arabic→Urdu
تَعَلُّقَة (ta'alluqa) 'connection', 'relationship'
taluqdar A person who collects the revenues of a taluq [OED] Also written talukdar or talookdar
Arabic→Urdu
تعلقدار (ta'alluq-dar) 'landholder', 'possessor of an estate', 'lord of a manor'
taluqdari An Indian landholding tenure [OED]
taqiya Concealing faith in Islam due to fear of persecution [RHW] Also written taqiyah [RHU], or capitalised
Arabic
التَقِيَّة
taqlid Acceptance of
Muslim
orthodoxy
[RHW]
Arabic
تَقْلِيد
tariqa
A
Sufi
method of spiritual development, or a Sufi missionary
[E][AOX] Also written tariqat [E] or tarika
Arabic
طَرِيق
tranq
Tranquilizer
(sedative)
[OED] Also written trank [OED]
Apocopation
from tranquilizer
tsaddiq In Judaism, a title for a righteous person [C][OED] Plural tsaddiqs or tsaddiqim; also written tzaddiq [C], tzadik or tzaddik Hebrew צדיק
umiaq
An open Inuit boat [OSPD4] Also spelled umiak, umialak, umiac, oomiac or oomiak
waqf A charitable trust in Islamic law [ODE][C][OED] Also written wakf; plural waqf [ODE][C][OED] or waqfs [C][OED]
Arabic
, literally 'stoppage' from waqafa, 'come to a standstill'
xiangqi Chess variant native to China Chinese: 象棋
xiqin Traditional Chinese bowed string musical instrument Chinese: 奚琴
yangqin A trapezoidal Chinese hammered dulcimer [C] Chinese: 揚琴
yaqona
A Fijian intoxicating beverage, kava [C][OED] Fijian yaqona, in which q represents [ŋɡ]

Uses in Scrabble

In many word games, notably in Scrabble, a player must build a word using a certain set of letters. If a player is obliged to use a q, but does not have a u, it may be possible to play words from this list. Not all words in this list are acceptable in Scrabble tournament games. Scrabble tournaments around the world use their own sets of words from selected dictionaries that might not contain all the words listed here.

Qi is the most commonly played word in Scrabble tournaments,[10] and was added to the official North American word list in 2006.[11]

Other words listed in this article, such as suq, umiaq or qiviut, are also acceptable, but since these contain a u, they are less likely to be useful in the situation described.[12]

List of dictionaries cited

See also

References

  1. .
  2. ^ Lynn Kauer. "Qaqortoq". Retrieved April 6, 2011.
  3. ^ "Hewlett-Packard and Compaq Agree to Merge, Creating $87 Billion Global Technology Leader" (Press release). Hewlett-Packard. September 3, 2001. Retrieved October 4, 2008.
  4. ^ Michael J. De la Merced (February 18, 2011). "Nasdaq and ICE Hold Talks Over Potential N.Y.S.E. Bid". Dealbook. The New York Times. Retrieved February 18, 2011.
  5. ^ "Qantas frequent flyers get microchip cards, heralding new era in faster travel". The Independent. UK. November 13, 2009. Retrieved April 10, 2010.
  6. ^ Andrew Buncombe (October 25, 2006). "Former CIA Chief Joins the Board of QinetiQ". The Independent. Retrieved January 14, 2012.
  7. .
  8. .
  9. ^ Robinson, Philip (1997). Ulster-Scots: A Grammar of the Traditional Written and Spoken Language. The Ullans Press. Archived from the original on 2004-03-14.
  10. ^ Playing the 'Q'. Huub Luyk. Sun.Star Baguio. October 5, 2010. Retrieved October 19, 2010. Archived March 19, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
  11. ^ "Scrabble players adjust as official dictionary adds ' za, 'qi ' and 3,300 others." Vargia Linn. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. April 9, 2006. Retrieved October 19, 2010.
  12. ^ Words with a Q not followed by a U fArchived 2010-10-06 at the Wayback Machine. Australian Scrabble Players Association. May 8, 2007. Retrieved October 18, 2010.

Bibliography