1. a fixed share of something that a person or group is entitled to receive or is bound to contribute: "the county is falling short of its quota of blood donations"
▪ a limited quantity of a particular product which under official controls can be produced, exported, or imported: "the country may be exceeding its OPEC quota of 1,100,000 barrels of oil per day"
▪ a fixed minimum or maximum number of a particular group of people allowed to do something, such as immigrants to enter a country, workers to undertake a job, or students to enroll for a course: "the removal of entry quotas encouraged young people to enter universities"
▪ (in a system of proportional representation) the minimum number of votes required to elect a candidate.
▪ a person's share of a particular thing, quality, or attribute:"an Irishman with a double ration of blarney and a treble quota of charm"
Word Originearly 17th century: from medieval Latin quota (pars) ‘how great (a part)’, feminine of quotus, from quot ‘how many’.
