tetra-
Translingual
[edit]Etymology
[edit]Borrowed from Ancient Greek τετρα- (tetra-).
Prefix
[edit]| 4 | Previous: | tri- |
|---|---|---|
| Next: | penta- |
tetra-
Derived terms
[edit]Translations
[edit]quadri- — see quadri-
English
[edit]
Alternative forms
[edit]- tetr- (before a vowel)
Etymology
[edit]Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *kʷetwóres
Proto-Hellenic *kʷétwores
Ancient Greek τέσσᾰρες (téssăres)
English tetra-
Borrowed from Ancient Greek τετρα- (tetra-), combining form of Ancient Greek τέτταρες (téttares), from τέσσαρες (téssares, “four”). Doublet of quadri-.
Pronunciation
[edit]- IPA(key): /ˈtɛtɹə/
Audio (Southern England): (file)
Prefix
[edit]| 4 | Previous: | tri- |
|---|---|---|
| Next: | penta- |
tetra-
- Four.
- 2006, Thomas Pynchon, Against the Day, Vintage 2007, p. 665: [cf. -latry]
- Which is how Kit first heard about the T.W.I.T. back in London, and of the ghostly neo-Pythagorean cult of tetralatry or worship of the number four, currently the rage in certain European circles
- 2006, Thomas Pynchon, Against the Day, Vintage 2007, p. 665: [cf. -latry]
Derived terms
[edit]Translations
[edit]forming compound words having the sense of ‘four’
See also
[edit]Anagrams
[edit]Catalan
[edit]Etymology
[edit]From Ancient Greek τέτταρες (téttares), τέσσαρες (téssares, “four”).
Prefix
[edit]tetra-
Derived terms
[edit]Further reading
[edit]- “tetra-”, in Diccionari de la llengua catalana [Dictionary of the Catalan Language] (in Catalan), second edition, Institute of Catalan Studies [Catalan: Institut d'Estudis Catalans], April 2007
- “tetra-”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2026
- “tetra-” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
- Alcover, Antoni Maria; Moll, Francesc de Borja (1963), “tetra-”, in Diccionari català-valencià-balear (in Catalan)
Finnish
[edit]Etymology
[edit]Internationalism (see English tetra-), ultimately from Ancient Greek τετρα- (tetra-).
Pronunciation
[edit]Prefix
[edit]tetra-
Usage notes
[edit]The prefix tetra- is mainly used in the names of chemical compounds or in words that have been loaned from other languages with the tri- prefix already there. For other words, the prefix neli-, which is derived from the Finnish word neljä (“four”) is preferred.
Derived terms
[edit]Italian
[edit]Alternative forms
[edit]- tetr- (before a vowel)
Etymology
[edit]From Ancient Greek τέτταρες (téttares), τέσσαρες (téssares, “four”).
Prefix
[edit]tetra-
Derived terms
[edit]Related terms
[edit]Anagrams
[edit]Polish
[edit]Etymology
[edit]From Ancient Greek τετρα- (tetra-).
Pronunciation
[edit]Prefix
[edit]tetra-
- tetra-
- tetra- + -logia → tetralogia
Derived terms
[edit]Further reading
[edit]Portuguese
[edit]Etymology
[edit]From Ancient Greek τέτταρες (téttares), τέσσαρες (téssares, “four”).
Prefix
[edit]tetra-
Derived terms
[edit]Further reading
[edit]- “tetra-”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2026
- “tetra-”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2026
Spanish
[edit]Etymology
[edit]Borrowed from Ancient Greek τετρα- (tetra-).
Prefix
[edit]tetra-
Derived terms
[edit]Further reading
[edit]- “tetra-”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025
Categories:
- Translingual terms borrowed from Ancient Greek
- Translingual terms derived from the Proto-Indo-European word *kʷetwóres
- Translingual terms derived from Ancient Greek
- Translingual terms derived from Proto-Indo-European
- Translingual terms derived from Proto-Hellenic
- Translingual lemmas
- Translingual prefixes
- English terms derived from Proto-Hellenic
- English terms derived from Ancient Greek
- English terms derived from Proto-Indo-European
- English terms derived from the Proto-Indo-European word *kʷetwóres
- English terms borrowed from Ancient Greek
- English doublets
- English 2-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English terms with audio pronunciation
- English lemmas
- English prefixes
- en:Four
- Catalan terms derived from Ancient Greek
- Catalan lemmas
- Catalan prefixes
- Finnish internationalisms
- Finnish terms derived from Ancient Greek
- Finnish terms with IPA pronunciation
- Finnish lemmas
- Finnish prefixes
- fi:Chemistry
- Italian terms derived from Ancient Greek
- Italian lemmas
- Italian prefixes
- Polish terms derived from Ancient Greek
- Polish 2-syllable words
- Polish terms with IPA pronunciation
- Polish terms with audio pronunciation
- Rhymes:Polish/ɛtra
- Rhymes:Polish/ɛtra/2 syllables
- Polish lemmas
- Polish prefixes
- Portuguese terms derived from Ancient Greek
- Portuguese lemmas
- Portuguese prefixes
- Spanish terms borrowed from Ancient Greek
- Spanish terms derived from Ancient Greek
- Spanish lemmas
- Spanish prefixes