quotidus

Quotidus is a term used in literary and digital humanities to describe a quantitative measure of quotation density in a text. It is defined as the percentage of total words that are direct quotations or speech acts indicated by quotation marks or other conventional signals. The concept is used to analyze how authors incorporate quoted material relative to original writing and to compare quotation practices across genres, time periods, and languages.

Etymology and usage: The word quotidus appears to be a neologism formed from the English word quote combined with a Latin-leaning suffix. It is not a universally standardized term; researchers may define the metric slightly differently. The most common formulation treats quotidus as a simple quotient: quotidus = (words inside quotation marks) / (total words) × 100. Some studies adjust for block quotes, dialogue, or non-speech material to avoid inflating the metric.

Example and interpretation: In a 2,000-word essay with 260 words quoted, quotidus equals 13 percent. A higher quotidus indicates greater reliance on source text, while a lower quotidus suggests more original synthesis. Critics caution that quotidus can be misleading when quotation conventions vary across genres, or when paraphrase closely mirrors sources without marking as a quote.

Applications and limitations: Quotidus has potential uses in authorship analysis, stylistic studies, and copyright discussions. It should not be treated as a stand-alone measure of quality or originality; contextual and qualitative assessment remains essential, and the metric should be interpreted in light of genre norms and citation practices.