Status or state; most commonly used in the phrase 'status quo,' meaning the way things currently are.
From Latin 'quo,' the ablative form of 'qui' (who/which), literally meaning 'in which.' Used in legal Latin phrases since medieval times.
The phrase 'status quo' is Latin for 'the state in which'—it's how lawyers and diplomats maintained power by keeping things exactly as they were. That's why 'maintaining the status quo' is often used by people wanting to prevent change.
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