Quaque (on prescription)

If a medicine is to be taken every so- many hours, it is written 'q_h'; the 'q' standing for the Latin word for once 'quaque' and the 'h' indicating the number of hours. So, for example, '2 caps q4h' means 'Take 2 capsules every 4 hours.' However it is written, it is one of a number of hallowed abbreviations of Latin terms that have been traditionally used in prescriptions to specify the frequency with which medicines should be taken.

Other examples include: > >q.d. (qd or QD) is once a day; q.d. stands for 'quaque die' (which means, in Latin, once a day). >b.i.d. (bid or BID) is twice a day; b.i.d. stands for 'bis in die' (which means twice a day). >t.i.d. (or tid or TID) is three times a day ; t.i.d. stands for 'ter in die' (in Latin, 3 times a day). >q.i.d. (or qid or QID) is four times a day; q.i.d. stands for 'quater in die' (in Latin, 4 times a day).