quattuor

Latin

Latin numbers ^(edit)

	40
←  3	IV 4	5  →
Cardinal: quattuor     Ordinal: quārtus     Adverbial: quater     Proportional: quadruplus     Multiplier: quadruplex, quadriplex     Distributive: quaternus, quadrīnus     Collective: quaterniō     Fractional: quadrāns, teruncius

Alternative forms

• quattor (rare), quatuor (Medieval Latin)
• Roman numerals: IV or IIII or IIII^or

Etymology

From Proto-Italic *kʷettwōr (*t duplicated preceding *-w-), from Proto-Indo-European *kʷetwṓr, neuter plural of *kʷetwóres. Cognates include Sanskrit चतुर् (catur), Old Armenian չորք (čʻorkʻ), Ancient Greek τέσσαρες (téssares), and Old English fēower (English four).

The change of *e to a is unexplained; the expected form would be *quettuor. One theory suggests contamination with the zero-grade form *kʷtwr̥-.

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /ˈkʷat.tu.or/, [ˈkʷät̪ːuɔr]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈkwat.tu.or/, [ˈkwät̪ːuor]

Numeral

quattuor (indeclinable)

1. four; 4
   • 8 CE, Ovid, Metamorphoses 1.116–118:

     Iuppiter antiqui contraxit tempora veris perque hiemes aestusque et inaequalis autumnos et breve ver spatiis exegit quattuor annum.

     Venerable Jove brought together the time of spring and through winter, summer, variable autumn, and brief spring completed the year in four seasons.

   • 405 CE, Jerome, Vulgate Leviticus.11.23:

     quicquid autem ex volucribus quattuor tantum habet pedes execrabile erit vobis

     But all other flying creeping things, which have four feet, shall be an abomination unto you.

Derived terms

• quadrangulātus
• quadrāns
• quadrantal
• quadrantālis
• quadrantārius
• quadrātārius
• quadrātē
• quadrātiō
• quadrātum
• quadrātūra
• quadrātus
• quadriangulum
• quadriangulus
• quadridēns
• quadriduānus
• quadriduum
• quadriennis
• quadriennium
• quadriēris
• quadrifāriam
• quadrifāriter
• quadrifārius
• quadrifidus
• quadrifīnālis
• quadrifīnium
• quadrifluus
• quadrifluvium
• quadriforis
• quadrifrōns
• quadrīgae
• quadrīgālis
• quadrigamus
• quadrīgārius
• quadrīgātus
• quadrigeminus
• quadrigōnus
• quadrīgulae
• quadriiugis
• quadriiugus
• quadrilaterus
• quadrilībris
• quadrimanus
• quadrīmātus
• quadrimembris
• quadrimenstruus
• quadrimestris
• quadrīmulus
• quadrīmus
• quadringentī
• quadringentiēs
• quadrīnī
• quadripartiō
• quadripartītiō
• quadripartītō
• quadripartītus
• quadrirēmis
• quadrisēmus
• quadrivium
• quadrō
• quater
• quaterniō
• quaternārius
• quaternī

 

Related terms

• quadra
• quadrāgintā
• quadrus
• quārtus

 

Descendants

• Balkan Romance:
  • Aromanian: patru, paturu
  • Istro-Romanian: påtru
  • Megleno-Romanian: patru
  • Romanian: patru
• Dalmatian:
  • quater, quatar, kuatri, čatro, quattro
• Italo-Romance:
  • Corsican: quattru
  • Gallurese: cattru, quattru
  • Italian: quattro
    • → Sabir: quatr' (or via some other Romance variety)
  • Neapolitan: quatto

    Tarantino: quatt

  • Sicilian: quattru
  • Sassarese: quattru
• North Italian:
  • Emilian: quâter
  • Friulian: cuatri
  • Istriot: quatro
  • Ladin: cater
  • Ligurian: quattro
  • Old Lombard: quatro
    • Lombard: quatter, quatar, quater, quasar
  • Piedmontese: quatr
  • Romagnol: quatar
  • Romansch: quatter, quater
  • Venetian: quatro
• Gallo-Romance:
  • Franco-Provençal: quatro
  • Old French: quatre, catre, qatre
    • Champenois: caitre, quaitre
    • Franc-Comtois: quaitre
    • Middle French: quatre
      • French: quatre (see there for further descendants)
    • Norman: quate (continental), quatre (Guernsey), quat' (Jersey)
    • Picard: quate
    • Walloon: cwate
• Occitano-Romance:
  • Catalan: quatre
  • Old Occitan: catre, quatre
    • Occitan: quatre, qüate
• Ibero-Romance:
  • Navarro-Aragonese: quatro
    • Aragonese: quatre, quatro
  • Old Leonese: quatro
    • Asturian: cuatro, cuatru, cuetru
    • Leonese: cuatru
    • Mirandese: quatro
  • Old Galician-Portuguese: quatro
    • Fala: cuatru
    • Galician: catro
    • Portuguese: quatro (see there for further descendants)
  • Old Spanish: quatro
    • Ladino: kuatro
    • Spanish: cuatro
      • Chavacano: kwatro
      • Palenquero: cuatro
• Insular Romance:
  • Sardinian:

    Campidanese: quattru, quatturu, batturu

    Logudorese: battor

    Nuorese: battor

• Borrowings:
  • → French: quatuor

See also

• Appendix:Latin cardinal numbers

References

• “quattuor”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “quattuor”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• quattuor in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
• Carl Meißner, Henry William Auden (1894) Latin Phrase-Book‎^[1], London: Macmillan and Co.
  • four successive days: quattuor dies continui
    
  • to hold out for four months: obsidionem quattuor menses sustinere