See also: Qual, QUAL, quál, and qual'

English

Alternative forms

Etymology

Clipping of qualified

Noun

qual (countable and uncountable, plural quals)

  1. (usually in the plural) Qualifying exam. An exam taken by someone (usually a grad student or prospective grad student) to measure their mastery in something, usually an academic field.
    • 2000, Stephen Cannell, The Devil's Workshop: A Novel, HarperCollins, page 12:
      He'd refused to say anything more, because he didn't want to distract her with his problems on the eve of the Quals.
    • 2004, Emanuel Derman, My Life as a Quant: Reflections on Physics and Finance, John Wiley & Sons, page 30:
      To be a theorist, you also had to pass a special theory section on the quals.
  2. (uncountable) Qualitative analysis or research.
    • 2015, Nigel Clark, Professional Services Marketing Handbook: How to Build Relationships, Grow Your Firm and Become a Client Champion, London: Kogan Page Publishers, page 70:
      We believe there is a role for both qual and quant in professional services.
  3. (sports) Alternative form of quali.

Adjective

qual (not comparable)

  1. Short for qualitative
    • 2012, Judith M. Meloy, Twenty-first Century Learning by Doing, Rotterdam: Sense Publishers, page 24:
      Finally, in the school of education, I found coursework that included qual and quant methodology.

Quotations

For more quotations using this term, see Citations:qual.

Catalan

Etymology

    Inherited from Latin quālis.

    Pronunciation

    Pronoun

    qual (relative, plural quals)

    1. which
      És un cop del qual no es va recuperar.
      It's a blow from which he is has not recovered.

    Adjective

    qual (plural, dialectal masculine plural quals, dialectal feminine quala, dialectal feminine plural quales)

    1. (interrogative, archaic, Balearic, Alghero) which, what

    Derived terms

    Further reading

    Interlingua

    Adverb

    qual (not comparable)

    1. what (such)

    Determiner

    qual

    1. (relative) which
      Le doctrina de Jamblicho super le anima es sin dubita inspirate per le Timeo de Platon, in qual texto le autor depinge le anima como le mediation inter lo intelligibile indivisibile – le idea – e lo sensibile divisibile e multiple.(WP)
      Iamblichus' doctrine about the soul is without a doubt inspired by Plato's Timaeus, in which text the author depicts the soul as the mediation between the indivisible intelligible — the idea — and the divisible and multiple sensory.

    Pronoun

    qual

    1. (interrogative) what
      Qual es le instrumento del anima per rationalisar lo sensibile, multiple e cambiante? (WP)
      What is the soul's instrument to perceive by reason the sensory, multiple, and variable?
    2. (relative) which
      Secundo Jamblicho, le mathematica es le medio per qual le anima da unitate a lo diverse e es capabile de rationalisar le ordine de lo sensibile. (WP)
      According to Iamblichus, mathematics is the medium by which the soul gives unity to the diverse and is capable of perceiving by reason the order of the sensory.

    Italian

    Alternative forms

    Pronunciation

    Determiner

    qual

    1. apocopic form of quale

    Pronoun

    qual

    1. apocopic form of quale
      • 1300s–1310s, Dante Alighieri, “Canto I”, in Inferno [Hell], lines 4–6; republished as Giorgio Petrocchi, editor, La Commedia secondo l'antica vulgata [The Commedia according to the ancient vulgate], 2nd revised edition, Florence: publ. Le Lettere, 1994:
        Ahi quanto a dir qual era è cosa dura
        esta selva selvaggia e aspra e forte
        che nel pensier rinova la paura!
        Ah, how rueful to say what sort it was
        this wilderness wild and harsh and daunting
        that in my thoughts makes my fright alive again

    References

    1. ^ “qual” in Bruno Migliorini et al., Dizionario d'ortografia e di pronunzia, Rai Eri, 2025

    Further reading

    • “quale”, in Vocabolario Treccani on line (in Italian), Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana, 2026

    Middle English

    Noun

    qual

    1. alternative form of whale

    Portuguese

    Etymology

      Inherited from Old Galician-Portuguese qual, from Latin quālis (“which”).

      Pronunciation

       

      Determiner

      qual m or f (plural quais)

      1. which
        • 2006, Daniela Zaitz, Direito & know-how, Jurua Editora, →ISBN, page 31:
          Outro tipo de conceitualização é aquela dada por François Magnin, que tenta sistematizar as diversas definições de know-how analisando a quais elementos a expressão se aplicaria. O autor conclui que podem ser objeto do know-how quatro tipos de elementos, considerados isoladamente ou em conjunto: a habilidade técnica, a experiência técnica, os conhecimentos técnicos e os processos.
          Another type of conceptualization is that given by François Magnin, who tries to systematize the diverse definitions of know-how analyzing to which elements the expression would apply. The author concludes that four types of elements can be the object of know-how, considered in isolation or jointly: technical skill, technical experience, technical knowledge and processes.

      Pronoun

      qual m or f (plural quais)

      1. which (what one)
        Qual é maior?
        Which is bigger?

      Quotations

      Derived terms

      Further reading

      Spanish

      Pronoun

      qual (relative, plural quales)

      1. obsolete spelling of cual