Status quo, Status in quo n. The state in which anything is already. The phrase is also used retrospectively, as when, on a treaty of peace, matters return to the status quo ante bellum, or are left in statu quo ante bellum, i.e., the state (or, in the state) before the war. The form status quo is in most common use.
... about beginning the dance; yet you must of course follow the leaders." Peace was at last signed on the 6th of March, 1714: France kept Landau and Fort Louis; she restored Spires, Brisach, and Friburg. The emperor refused to recognize Philip V., but he accepted the status quo; the crown of Spain remained definitively with the house of Bourbon; it had cost men and millions enough; for an instant the very foundations of order in Europe had seemed to be upset; the old French monarchy had been threatened; it had recovered ... — A Popular History of France From The Earliest Times - Volume V. of VI. • Francois Pierre Guillaume Guizot
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