quadrivium

English

Etymology

From Medieval Latin quadrivium (“the four mathematical studies”), from Latin quattuor (“four”) + via (“road”).

Noun

quadrivium (plural quadriviums or quadrivia)

1. (education, historical) The higher division of the seven liberal arts in the Middle Ages, composed of geometry, astronomy, arithmetic, and music.

Coordinate terms

• trivium

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Latin

Alternative forms

• *quadruvium (Vulgar)

Etymology

From quattuor (“four”) +‎ via (“road”).

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /kʷaˈdri.wi.um/, [kʷaˈdrɪ.wi.ũ]
• (Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /kwaˈdri.vi.um/, [kwaˈdriː.vi.um]

Noun

quadrivium n (genitive quadriviī); second declension

1. a crossroads; place where four ways meet.
2. (Medieval Latin) the quadrivium (the four mathematical liberal arts)

Inflection

Second declension.

Case	Singular	Plural
nominative	quadrivium	quadrivia
genitive	quadriviī	quadriviōrum
dative	quadriviō	quadriviīs
accusative	quadrivium	quadrivia
ablative	quadriviō	quadriviīs
vocative	quadrivium	quadrivia

Descendants

• English: quadrivium
• Old French: carroge, carouge
  • French: Carouge, Carrouge (towns in Switzerland)

References

• quadrivium in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• quadrivium in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• quadrivium in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition, 1883–1887)
• quadrivium in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire Illustré Latin-Français, Hachette
• quadrivium in Harry Thurston Peck, editor (1898) Harper's Dictionary of Classical Antiquities, New York: Harper & Brothers
• Godefroy, Frédéric, Dictionnaire de l'ancienne langue française et de tous ses dialectes du IX^e au XV^e siècle (1881) (carroge)
• “carrefour” in le Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).