Quote or Quotation?

[Geishawhelk]

I apologise if this has been asked before; I conducted a search, but am unable to pinpoint any thread or post that satisfactorily answers my question:

I am embarking on an accredited proofreading course, and even my tutor is unable to answer my question....
I have always been taught that the word 'quote' is a conjugation of the verb 'to Quote' and that a quotation is the correct term for something quoted by somebody.
Yet repeatedly, I see phrases like "This is a quote from such-and-such a book...."

Whereas I would always say or write: "This is a quotation from such-and-such a book".....

Now, as an Englishwoman living in England, and having been brought up in a household where English grammar is punctiliously observed, my father feels that this use of the word 'quote', in the first example, is quite incorrect. And therefore, it jars on my ear also.
It's my upbringing you see. Such a difficult thing to shake off....

Would a British member of this hallowed forum be able to give me a considered opinion?

many thanks!

[xpert]

Would a British member of this hallowed forum be able to give me a considered opinion?

I'm not British but the question you raised interested me. Therefore, I surfed the Net to find some answers written by native speakers and as a teacher I added my veiwpoint.


This link may help you

Click here, also


As far as I'm concrned, the word QUOTE is a back clipping. What's a back clipping?

Back clipping or apocopation is the most common type of clipping, in which the beginning is retained. The unclipped original may be either a simple or a composite. Examples are: ad (advertisement), cable (cablegram), doc (doctor), exam (examination), fax (facsimile), gas (gasoline), gym (gymnastics, gymnasium), memo (memorandum), mutt (muttonhead), pub (public house), pop (popular music).

For more click here, pls


I hope I helped you!

[David L.]

The way language is changing, I think 'quotation' is going to be reserved for reciting verses from the works of revered poets: "It is a quotation from Wordsworth's Intimations Of Immortality". Even with Shakespeare, it will be 'a quote from Macbeth' etc.

[Geishawhelk]

Thank you both for your input. Xpert, thank you also for the links. The link regarding apocopation was extremely informative.
My father's going to have kittens.......!