Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary - quartering

 I. noun  Date: 15th century  1.  a. the division of an escutcheon containing different coats of arms into four or more compartments  b. a quarter of an escutcheon or the coat of arms on it  2. a line of usually noble or distinguished ancestry  II. adjective  Date: circa 1692  1. coming from a point well abaft the beam of a ship but not directly astern ~ waves  2. lying at right angles