Quality time
Encyclopedia
Quality time is an informal reference to time
spent with loved ones (e.g., close family
, partners
or friends) which is in some way important, special, productive or profitable. It is time that is set aside for paying full and undivided attention to the person or matter at hand. It may also refer to time spent performing some favorite activity.
) is a relatively new expression. Strictly speaking, a word which defines the nature of, or that modifies, a noun would be an adjective, and the adjectival form of the word quality is qualitative. However, the expression "quality time" has become the more usual expression since the 1970s. One of the earliest records of this phrase in print was in the Maryland
(USA) newspaper The Capital, January 1973, in the article "How To Be Liberated":
Time
Time is a part of the measuring system used to sequence events, to compare the durations of events and the intervals between them, and to quantify rates of change such as the motions of objects....
spent with loved ones (e.g., close family
Family
In human context, a family is a group of people affiliated by consanguinity, affinity, or co-residence. In most societies it is the principal institution for the socialization of children...
, partners
Significant other
Significant other is colloquially used as a gender-blind term for a person's partner in an intimate relationship without disclosing or presuming anything about marital status, relationship status, or sexual orientation, as it is vague enough to avoid offense by using a term that an individual...
or friends) which is in some way important, special, productive or profitable. It is time that is set aside for paying full and undivided attention to the person or matter at hand. It may also refer to time spent performing some favorite activity.
Etymology
"Quality time" (noun phraseNoun phrase
In grammar, a noun phrase, nominal phrase, or nominal group is a phrase based on a noun, pronoun, or other noun-like word optionally accompanied by modifiers such as adjectives....
) is a relatively new expression. Strictly speaking, a word which defines the nature of, or that modifies, a noun would be an adjective, and the adjectival form of the word quality is qualitative. However, the expression "quality time" has become the more usual expression since the 1970s. One of the earliest records of this phrase in print was in the Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
(USA) newspaper The Capital, January 1973, in the article "How To Be Liberated":
External links
- Quality Time Magazine, a parenting magazine for families in Hampshire
- The Phrase Finder