Quotidian as a noun

"People turn to literature to escape the quotidian, not to relive it."

Is the word used correctly here (something recurring daily)? I've been trying to rephrase this sentence for days.

 

It's not my tune to ask an unusual word to step back, but quotidian is a bit obscure. And by a bit, I mean extremely.

I would rephrase with an eye toward a word that is a little more accessible.

 

^I couldn't agree more, unless the goal is to deliberately use a word that most people don't recognize. Like Wrey, I'm all for using unique/semi-obscure words, but this one is a little too obscure, I think.

 

I thought it meant fever lol which it can do

No I don't think it makes sense: People turn to literature in order to escape the recurring daily, not to relive it. It would make sense if you were using it as an adjective but not a noun.

 

Thanks, guys. I had no idea it was obscure or anything. I'll just use "austerity" instead.

 

I don't think it's too obscure, but it's being used as a synonym for "everyday", which is definitely more common. Why not just use "everyday"?

 

I already used that in the following sentence. It was definitely an option, though.

 

A nice word. If you said,'..quotidian concerns, not to relive them', brighter readers, hitherto unaware of the word, would likely gather the meaning anyway.

 

Quotidian is an adjective, not a noun. You could use other agjectives, like mundane or humdrum, or you could find a noun that fits the needs of your context.

 

it's both but has limited meaning as a noun it can only be used in terms of the fever or recurring everyday.

 

Not in any of the dictionaries I consulted.

 

dictionary.com has it as both so does my Grandad's 1949 affair. (only one I have out with moving it is my most comprehensive.)

I notice the Oxford English Dictionary no longer has antiquated chronic fever reference either but it is in a 1940s nursing manual. It restricts it to maleria whereas I am sure it was used for things like brucellosis etc as well

 

But adjectives sometimes do double-duty as nouns, as in "It may be out of the ordinary for adjectives to do double-duty as nouns" (in which the adjective "ordinary" is used as a noun). Someone might say "When it comes to music, I like the hard more than the soft." There's an implied noun and we let it pass.

I don't think the usage in the original post is grammatically inadmissible.