queda

Queda is a term used in Romance languages, especially Portuguese and Spanish, with different but related meanings. In Portuguese, queda is a noun meaning fall, drop, or decline. It is used for physical movements of falling as well as decreases in quantity or value, for example queda de temperatura (a drop in temperature), queda de preços (a price drop), or queda de cabelo (hair loss). The word also appears in mathematical, economic, and everyday contexts to describe reductions or decreases.

In Spanish, queda is primarily a verb form. It is the present indicative of quedar and is used in several senses, including to stay or remain (¿Qué queda de la casa tras el incendio? would be a nonstandard phrasing; more common is to use quedarse), to be located or situated (La tienda queda a dos calles), and to end up or be left with something (Quedó satisfecho). Queda is also used in phrases that denote something remaining to be done, such as queda por hacer (there is still to be done). The past tense is quedó, and other tenses follow regular patterns of quedar.

Etymology and usage notes: the Portuguese sense of queda stems from Latin roots related to falling, while the Spanish verb quedar has its own development within the Romance verb family. Outside these core meanings, queda can appear in fixed expressions, regional usages, or as part of proper names or titles in Iberian-language contexts.

See also: related terms in Portuguese and Spanish dictionaries, including variations and related compounds that express fall, remaining, or location.