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(librep.info)Quoting

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Quoting
-------

   As the above sections explain some types of Lisp object have special
meaning to the Lisp evaluator (namely the symbol and list types) this
means that if you want to refer to a symbol or a list in a program you
can't because the evaluator will treat the form as either a variable
reference or a function call respectively.

   To get around this Lisp uses an idea called "quoting". The special
form `quote' simply returns its argument without evaluating it.  For
example,

     (quote my-symbol)
         => my-symbol

the `quote' form prevents the `my-symbol' being treated as a
variable--it is effectively `hidden' from the evaluator.

   Writing `quote' all the time would be a bit time-consuming so there
is a shortcut: the Lisp reader treats any form X preceded by a single
quote character (`'') as the form `(quote X)'. So the example above
would normally be written as,

     'my-symbol
         => my-symbol

   The general way to prevent evaluation of a form is to simply precede
it by a single quote-mark.

 - Special Form: quote form
     This special form returns its single argument without evaluating
     it. This is used to "quote" constant objects to prevent them from
     being evaluated.

   For another form of quoting, see Note: Backquoting.