quad

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See also quad-, and -quad-

Contents

[edit] English

[edit] Etymology 1

[edit] Pronunciation

[edit] Noun

Singular
quad

Plural
quads

quad (plural quads)

  1. (informal) A quadrangle (courtyard).
  2. (informal) A quadruplet (infant).
  3. short for quadrilateral
  4. (informal) A quadriceps muscle.
  5. (coffee) Four shots of espresso.
  6. A quad bike.
[edit] Related terms

[edit] Adjective

quad (not comparable)

Positive
quad

Comparative
not comparable

Superlative
none (absolute)

  1. (coffee) Having four shots of espresso.
[edit] Translations

[edit] See also

[edit] Etymology 2

1785 Quads. pl, 1847 quads, verb 1876. From the abbreviation quad., for obsolete quadrat. Keyboard command is named for the verb sense.

[edit] Alternative forms

[edit] Noun

Singular
quad

Plural
quads

quad (plural quads)

  1. (letterpress typography) A blank metal block used to fill short lines of type.
    • 1853, Charles Dickens, “Household Words”, n 160 (April 16), p 148:
       “Quadrats, sir. We call 'em quads.” . . . Quads are the spaces left between the paragraphs that come white on the paper. If you look here, at this page that is set-up, you will see that they are deeper than the spaces left between the words and letters—regular little trenches.
    • 1979, Marshall Lee, Bookmaking, p 110:
      Horizontal spacing is further divided into multiples and fractions of the em. The multiples are called quads. The fractions are called spaces.
    • 2005, Phil Baines and Andrew Haslam, Type & Typography, 2nd ed, p 91:
      Other larger spaces – known as quads – were used to space out lines.
  2. (printing slang) A joke used to fill long days of setting type.
  3. (typography, phototypesetting and digital typesetting) A keyboard command which aligns text with the left or right margin, or centred between them. In combination, as quad left, quad right, or quad centre.
[edit] Synonyms
[edit] Derived terms

[edit] Verb

Infinitive
to quad

Third person singular
quads

Simple past
quadded

Past participle
quadded

Present participle
quadding

to quad (third-person singular simple present quads, present participle quadding, simple past and past participle quadded)

  1. (letterpress typography, transitive or intransitive) To fill spaces in a line of type with quads. Also quad out.
  2. (typography, phototypesetting and digital typesetting, transitive or intransitive) To align text with the left or right margin, or centre it.

[edit] Italian

[edit] Noun

quad m. inv.

  1. quad bike