qua (kw?, kwä)prep. In the capacity or character of; as: The president qua head of the party mediated the dispute.[Latin qu?, feminine ablative sing. of qu?, who; see kwo- in Indo-European roots.]American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.qua (kwe?; kw??) prepin the capacity of; by virtue of being[C17: from Latin, ablative singular (feminine) of qui who]Collins English Dictionary ? Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014qua (kw?, kwä), adv. as; as being; in the character or capacity of: The work of art qua art can be judged by aesthetic criteria only. [1640?50;