Quality time

Quality time

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/matter at hand. It may also refer to time spent performing some favored activity ("e.g.", a hobby). The opportunity to experience quality time, or the actual time available to enjoy quality time is often limited. However, this is outweighed by the importance, intensity or value attached to events or interactions which occur during quality time. Quality time therefore has a degree of emotional or social "quality" which other aspects of personal life may lack.
Busy parents may also use the term to justify the limited amount of overall time they spend with their children.

Etymology

"Quality time" ("noun phrase") 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':-

'The major goal of each of these role changes is to give a woman time to herself, Ms. Burton explained. "A woman's right and responsibility is to be self fulfilling," she said. She gives "quality time" rather than "quantity time" to each task, whether it be writing, cleaning the house or tending the children.' [x]
Since its adoption in the USA the phrase has gradually come into common usage in the UK and other English speaking countries.

External links

* [http://www.qtmag.co.uk Quality Time Magazine] , a parenting magazine for families in Hampshire
* [http://www.qt-online.nl Quality Time Online] , a Dutch webzine full of Soul/R&B/HipHop

References

* [http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/297250.html The Phrase Finder]

ee also

* Quality Time (film)


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Look at other dictionaries:

  • quality time — ➔ time * * * quality time UK US noun [U] ► time that you spend giving your full attention to someone or something without having to deal with other things at the same time: »I need to give my staff some quality time. quality time with sb/together …   Financial and business terms

  • quality time — time devoted exclusively to nurturing a cherished person or activity. [1985 90] * * * noun [noncount] : time that you spend giving all of your attention to someone who is close to you (such as your child) Spending some quality time after work… …   Useful english dictionary

  • quality time — quality .time n [U] the time that you spend giving someone your full attention, especially time that you spend with your children when you are not busy ▪ Do you spend enough quality time with your children? …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • quality time — quality ,time noun uncount time that you spend with someone, usually your child, doing enjoyable things together so that your relationship remains strong …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • quality time — ► NOUN ▪ time devoted exclusively to another person in order to strengthen a relationship …   English terms dictionary

  • Quality time — Ein amerikanischer Vater mit seinen Söhnen beim Lesen Unter Quality time (engl. für „Qualitätszeit“) versteht man im gesellschaftlichen Diskurs des englischsprachigen Raumes, besonders der Vereinigten Staaten, die Zeit, in der man seinen –… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • quality time — /ˈkwɒləti taɪm/ (say kwoluhtee tuym) noun time, especially time spent with children, during which full, undistracted communication and interaction can take place: * You want what little time you have to be quality time, she said. –advertiser,… …  

  • quality time — N UNCOUNT (approval) If people spend quality time together, they spend a period of time relaxing or doing things that they both enjoy, and not worrying about work or other responsibilities …   English dictionary

  • quality time —  Short but satisfying periods of time spent with family members. Harried executives often talk about spending quality time with members of their family …   American business jargon

  • quality time — time devoted exclusively to nurturing a cherished person or activity. [1985 90] * * * …   Universalium

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