quote

1、quote 的头层意思其实是"报个数"：拉丁 quot 管"多少"。旧时抄写员给文稿分节编号、方便查依据，这套"数出处"的动作后来就成了"引用"；生意场"报价"倒是回到了"报个数"的老本行。
2、同出的亲戚：quality（质量）、quantity（数量）、who（谁）——都带着疑问词干 kwo- 的底色，见谁都要"问数"。quota（配额）、quotient（商）也一家。
3、三个"引用"分工：cite 引经据典指明出处，quote 不加剪裁直接引原文，repeat 只是复述、不必说来源。拼写 quo-te，英 /kwəʊt/ 美 /kwoʊt/。

quote 引用，报价

来自拉丁语quot,多少，来自PIE*kwo,疑问代词词干，词源同quality,quantity.用于指文章引用出处，章节，后用于指投标，报价。

quote

quote: [14] Latin quot meant ‘how many’. From it was derived the adjective quotus ‘of what number’, whose feminine form quota was used in post-classical times as a noun, denoting literally ‘how great a part’ – whence English quota [17]. Quotus also formed the basis of the medieval Latin verb quotāre ‘number’, which was used specifically for the practice of marking sections of text in manuscripts with numbers, as reference points.

English took the verb over as quote, and by the 16th century was using it for ‘cite’ or ‘refer to’. The derived unquote is first recorded in a letter by e e cummings, dated 1935. Also based on quot was Latin quotiēns ‘how many times’, which has given English quotient [15]; and quotidian ‘daily’ [14] goes back ultimately to a Latin compound formed from quotus and diēs ‘day’.

But the archaic quoth [OE], despite a certain similarity in form and sense, is not related; it comes from cwæth, the past tense of Old English cwethan ‘say’.
=> quota, quotient

quote (v.)

late 14c., coten, "to mark (a book) with chapter numbers or marginal references," from Old French coter, from Medieval Latin quotare "distinguish by numbers, number chapters," from Latin quotus "which in order? what number (in sequence)?," from quot "how many," from PIE *kwo-ti-, from pronominal root *kwo- (see who).

The sense development is via "to give as a reference, to cite as an authority" (1570s) to "to copy out or repeat exact words" (1670s). Modern spelling with qu- is from early 15c. The business sense of "to state the price of a commodity" (1866) revives the etymological meaning. Related: Quoted; quoting.

quote (n.)

"a quotation," 1885, from quote (v.). From c. 1600 as "a marginal reference." Quotes for "quotation marks" is from 1869.

1. What was that marvellous quote that she came out with?

她引用的那句妙语是什么来着？

2. Always get a written quote for any repairs needed.

每次进行修理都索要一份书面的报价单。

3. We've only had an "average", quote, unquote, kind of recession.

我们只有过一次被称作“一般性的”经济衰退。

4. Joe was always good for a colorful quote.

乔总能绘声绘色地旁征博引。

5. We'll send you a quote without delay.

我们会立刻送一份报价给你。

【cite, quote, repeat】
这组词都有“引用，复述”的意思，其区别是：
cite: 指引经据典以示证明或凭据。
quote: 指不加剪裁的直接引用原文或原话。
repeat: 仅强调口头或笔头重复别人的话或字句，并不必指明出处。