status quo

UK/ˌsteɪ.təs ˈkwəʊ/US/ˌstæt.əs ˈkwoʊ/

nounC1Not compared — the two pools are counted one word at a time, so a phrase has no score

The status quo is the way things stand at present. Defend the status quo.

It has a built-in advantage in any argument, since changing anything needs a reason. The full Latin phrase is longer, and status quo is the short form everybody uses.

Definitions of status quo

1nounstatus quoThe way things stand at present.C1
“The status quo survived the whole review.”

status quo is a state.

Where it comes from

Latin for the state in which; shortened from in statu quo ante, in the state in which things were before.

Latin
status — state
English, today
status quo

Built from

quō · Latin — in which
quī · Latin — which

From Latin status (“state”) (sometimes used in the ablative statū) + quō (“in which”), the ablative of quī (“which”).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

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