QUA Words: The Latin Root That Means Quality
QUA is itself a word — it means "in the capacity of" (as in "the president qua commander-in-chief"). But the QUA- opening branches into hundreds of words through Latin's influence on English. QUACK, QUAD, QUAFF, QUAGMIRE, QUAIL, QUAINT, QUAKE, QUALIFY, QUALM, QUANDARY, QUANTUM, QUARANTINE, QUARREL, QUARRY, QUARTER, QUARTZ, QUASH — the variety is staggering. What these words share is the QU combination's 10-point Q value in Scrabble, plus the fact that QUA- covers an unusually wide range of meanings rather than clustering around a single root.
Crossword constructors reach for QUA- words constantly because Q-without-U answers are nearly impossible, and QUA- offers dozens of options at every word length. QUAIL (5 letters, a bird or to show fear), QUARTZ (6 letters, a mineral), QUARANTINE (10 letters, isolation) — there's a QUA- word for almost any grid size. The double meaning of QUAIL is especially popular: the bird sense and the "shrink back in fear" sense give constructors two unrelated cluing angles for the same answer.
Scoring tip: QUAFF (17 points, to drink deeply) is one of the best QUA- plays in Scrabble because it's short, uses the double-F, and places the Q early. QUARTZ (24 points) is the highest-scoring six-letter QUA- word. For strategy with the rest of the Q family, explore words starting with EX for another prefix-heavy group with high-value tiles. words starting with C covers words that often cross with QUA- in grids, and words starting with S has SQUASH, SQUARE, and SQUAD.
FAQ
Is QUA a valid Scrabble word on its own?
Yes, QUA is valid in both TWL and SOWPODS. It means "in the capacity of" and scores 12 points for just three tiles — an outstanding per-tile ratio. It's one of the shortest ways to play a Q tile. For other compact Q plays, see words starting with JO where JO offers similar efficiency with the J tile.
What QUA- words score highest in Scrabble?
QUARTZ (24 points), QUARTZITE (27 points), and QUAFF (17 points) top the list. QUAGMIRE (20 points) is another strong mid-length option. The key is combining Q's 10 points with other premium tiles — Z in QUARTZ, double-F in QUAFF. For more high-scoring strategies, check words starting with X where premium tiles dominate.