In my infinite ignorance, I thought ‘quant’ was the name for clever mathematicians who work for hedge funds.  Then I learn better, it’s an English answer to gondoliering.   ‘To quant is to pole a boat along; a quant is a long pole used for quanting.’  A safer investment?  What do I know, but it certainly sounds more fun and accessible to the less numerate.
Source:Â Arthur Ransome, Coot Club (London: Jonathan Cape, 2009 (1934)), p. 102
