CUE

I. noun Etymology: Middle English cu half a farthing (spelled form of q, abbreviation for Latin quadrans quarter of an as) Date: circa 1755 the letter q , II. noun Etymology: probably from qu, abbreviation (used as a direction in actors' copies of plays) of Latin quando when Date: 1553 1. a signal (as a word, phrase, or bit of stage business) to a performer to begin a specific speech or action, something serving a comparable purpose ; hint , a feature indicating the nature of something perceived, the part one has to perform in or as if in a play, mood , humor , III. transitive verb (~d; cuing or ~ing) Date: 1922 to give a ~ to ; prompt , to insert into a continuous performance , IV. noun Etymology: French queue, literally, tail, from Old French ~, coe, queue, from Latin cauda Date: circa 1749 1. a leather-tipped tapering rod for striking the ~ ball (as in billiards and pool), a long-handled instrument with a concave head for shoving disks in shuffleboard, queue 2, V. verb (~d; cuing or ~ing) Date: circa 1784 transitive verb queue , to strike with a ~, intransitive verb queue , to use a ~