Collaborative quotation reference website from the Wikimedia family

Wikiquote

Wikiquote is a popular Wikimedia reference website for collecting, organizing, sourcing, and browsing quotations from people, works, proverbs, themes, and public culture.

Core use

Wikiquote helps readers find quotations and related source notes by person, literary work, film, theme, proverb, or topic.

Wikimedia project

Wikiquote is a Wikimedia sister project and uses wiki editing so volunteers can improve pages collaboratively.

Started

The English Wikiquote about page says the project began on June 27, 2003.

Wikiquote is a Wikimedia reference website for collecting and sourcing quotations.View image on original site

What Wikiquote is

Wikiquote is a free, collaboratively edited quotation reference website. On Wikiquote, readers can browse quotations from people, books, films, television, speeches, proverbs, themes, and other sources, while contributors can improve pages, add citations, organize sections, and link related Wikimedia resources.

A quote-focused wiki

Wikiquote uses the same broad wiki idea as Wikipedia but narrows the job: it collects notable quotations and tries to connect them to sources. Pages often group quotes by author, work, topic, language, or theme so readers can scan a subject without reading a full biography or encyclopedia article first.

Sources and attribution

A strong Wikiquote entry does more than repeat a memorable line. It should name where the quotation comes from, distinguish verified wording from disputed wording, and avoid presenting unsourced internet sayings as certain facts. That sourcing work is central because quotations are often misattributed online.

People, works, and themes

The site includes pages for writers, politicians, scientists, performers, fictional works, films, books, religious texts, proverbs, and broad themes. This structure makes Wikiquote useful for comparing how different people and works express similar ideas.

Multilingual editions

Wikiquote exists in multiple language editions, and each edition has its own community, policies, page coverage, and sourcing habits. A quotation that is well documented in one language may be absent, translated differently, or handled under different local rules in another.

Why it matters

Wikiquote matters because quotations are easy to share but hard to verify. A public, editable reference site can help readers move from a quote floating around the web toward a named speaker, source work, context, and a clearer sense of whether the wording is reliable.

Limits and cautions

Wikiquote is not a primary source and should not be the final authority for serious citation work. Readers should follow the listed source, check editions and translations, watch for disputed or unsourced lines, and remember that pages can change as volunteers edit them.

WHOIS domain data

Data pulled: May 20, 2026View current WHOIS record

Domain: wikiquote.org
IP address: 208.80.154.224
Registrar: MarkMonitor Inc.
WHOIS server: whois.markmonitor.com
Referral URL: http://www.markmonitor.com
Created: July 10, 2003
Updated: June 8, 2025
Expires: July 10, 2026
Nameservers: ns0.wikimedia.org (208.80.154.238); ns1.wikimedia.org (208.80.153.231); ns2.wikimedia.org (198.35.27.27)
Domain status: clientDeleteProhibited; clientTransferProhibited; clientUpdateProhibited
Registrant contact: Organization is listed as Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.; address country is listed as US; contact email is provided through MarkMonitor's request form.

Key concepts

QuotationA repeated passage or line attributed to a person, work, proverb, speech, fictional character, or public source.
AttributionThe work of connecting a quotation to the person, text, edition, translation, date, or context where it appears.
Wiki editingA collaborative publishing model where volunteers can improve pages, add references, reorganize material, and discuss changes.

Website features

Quote pagesBrowse pages for people, books, films, shows, proverbs, themes, and other quote sources.
Source notesUse citations, context notes, and disputed sections to separate sourced lines from uncertain ones.
Wikimedia linksMove between related Wikimedia projects for encyclopedia articles, dictionary entries, source texts, media files, and structured data.

Common misconceptions

Not every quote is verifiedA line appearing on Wikiquote still needs source checking, especially when it is marked as disputed, unsourced, or translated.
Not only famous peopleWikiquote also covers works, fictional characters, proverbs, themes, and culturally important texts.
Not a replacement for the originalFor academic, legal, journalistic, or publication use, the original source is still the stronger citation.

Open questions

MisinformationHow can open quotation sites better flag misattributed sayings before they spread across search and social platforms?
TranslationHow should quote references handle translated wording when no single English version is definitive?
ContextHow much surrounding context should a quotation page include before it becomes a broader article rather than a quote reference?