■ noun
1》 a limited quantity of a product which may be produced, exported, or imported.
2》 a share of something that one is entitled to receive or bound to contribute.
3》 a fixed number of a group allowed to do something, e.g. immigrants to enter a country.
4》 (in a system of proportional representation) the minimum number of votes required to elect a candidate.
Origin
C17: from med. L. ~ (pars) 'how great (a part)', feminine of quotus , from quot 'how many'.