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I'm Indonesian student study english. I come across word 'qua' in a book A Generation of Sociopaths: How the Baby Boomers Betrayed America.

I try to understand what the word 'Qua' means. I have used a few dictionaries but I still unable to understand it fully.

Source: Lexico

Definition: "In the capacity of; as being"

Examples:

Qua musician, he lacks skill, but his playing is lively and enthusiastic. (Does it mean 'As a musician'?)

The work of art qua art can be judged by aesthetic criteria only.

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    I'm not sure what I could add. "Qua" is a rare word meaning "As" or "in the capacity of". It is a weird Latin borrowing, but the dictionary definition is correct and applies to the examples you have "As a musician..." "Art as art" (and not art as decoration or art as social commentary or art as...)
    – James K
    Commented Jul 20, 2022 at 22:35
  • What James K said, with emphasis on how very rare --and therefore unimportant-- the word is. I see it less than once a year, and I may never have used it in my life.
    – gotube ♦
    Commented Jul 21, 2022 at 0:32
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    qua (as) is used in formal writing quite often as seen in good magazines like The Atlantic Monthly, or The New Yorker and publications like The Times Literary Supplement. It is usually written in italics: art qua art. It is often used in reference to ideas and concepts. qua is as but can also be understood as "strictly speaking" strictu sensu. [Try and use a better dictionary. Lexico is not that good.] It depends what kinds of conversations one has. I have to admit that I do use it. Does that make me a snob? :)
    – Lambie
    Commented Jul 21, 2022 at 0:53
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    @MichaelHarvey The dumbing down of speech is a pity.
    – Lambie
    Commented Jul 21, 2022 at 18:10
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    @Lambie - I accidentally used sine qua non in conversation once. Oh dear! In your comment above you mentioned three publications I am very fond of. I still miss the Listener.
    – Michael Harvey
    Commented Jul 21, 2022 at 18:51

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