LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
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“four” in Latin

Riddle & Arnold A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon, 1864

four
quatuor: quaterni, ae, a (each, or to each four, in divisions; also, = four at once, especially with substantives that are used in plur. only; e.g., on each waggon there were four men, quaternos viros singuli currus vehebant: four letters, quaternae litterae; i. e., epistles): four or five, quatuor quinque; quatuor aut quinque: twice four, bis quatuor: containing four pieces, quaternarius (also = of four feet in diameter, breadth, etc.; e.g., pit, scrobs): one of a committee composed of four men, quatuorvir (their rank was quatuorviratus): lasting four months, quadrimestris: four years old, quadrimus: (each) four years old, quaternorum annorum (e.g., boys, pueri): lasting four years, quadriennis: a space of four years, quadriennium (e.g., four years after the taking of Veii, quadriennio post Veios captos): every four years, quarto quoque anno: at four (o’clock), hora quarta: four per cent, quadrans: a carriage and four, quadrigae: to ride in a carriage and four, curru quadrigarum vehi: made or intended to be drawn by four horses, quadrijugus or quadrijugis; e.g., currus quadrijugus or quadrijugis; also, quadrigae (i. e., a team of four horses): that has four hands, quatuor manus habens; quadrimanus or quadrimanis (the last two seldom occur): a musical piece arranged for four (à quatre-mains), *modi musici quatuor manibus clavichordio canendi: (a song) composed for four voices (a quartette), modi musici quatuor vocibus descripti: tetrachordos (τετράχορδος; i. e., that has four sounds): the four, numerus quaternarius (general term); quaternio (on dice; e.g., to throw the four, quaternionem mittere): that has four legs, quadrupes: four-threaded, or made of four threads, “quatuor fila habens; *quatuor filis constans: that has four corners, quadratus; quadrangulus (of four angles): that has four sides, quatuor lateribus; quadrilaterus (only in later writers): of four syllables, *tetrasyllabus (τετρασύλλαβος): of four (or lasting four hours), quatuor horarum: lasting four days, quatuor dierum: a space of four days, quatriduum: four times, quater: four times as big, or as much again, quadruplum: four times as much as, etc. [Vid: FOUR-FOLD]: four times bigger, quadruplo major (e.g., the lungs of the elephant are four times as large as those of a bull, elephanto pulmo quadruplo major bubulo): a piece of poetry consisting of four lines, carmen tetrastichum: also, tetrastichum only (tetrastichus, τετράτιχος, grammatical term): that has four prongs, quadridens: that has four teeth, quadridens: consisting of four different sorts, quatuor generum; quatuor (four, in general): four and a half, quatuor et dimidius (as adjective): four times as much as, quater tantum, quam quantum (after Cic., Verr., 3, 45, 112); quater tanto amplius, quam quantum (after Cic., Verr. 3, 97, extr.): on all fours, per manus et genua (e.g., reptare); more bestiarum quadrupes, or quadrupes only.
Four hundred, quadringenti; quadringeni (each, or to each four hundred, also, four hundred at once; especially with substantives that are only used in the plur., number; e.g., each horseman received four hundred “denarii,” equitibus quadringeni denarii tributi: consisting each time of four hundred pieces, men, etc., quadringenarius; e.g., cohorts of four hundred men, cohortes quadringenariae): four hundred times, quadringenties. Four thousand, quatuor millia (with following noun in the genitive plur.); quaterna millia: quaterni milleni (with such nouns as are used in the plur. only).

Quick answer

What is the Latin word for four?
The usual Latin words for “four” are quattuor, quaternus, quaternārius; also quadrīmus. The right choice depends on the sense; see the distinctions below.

Entry from J. E. Riddle & T. K. Arnold, A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon (rev. C. Anthon, New York: Harper, 1864), digitised by Fergus J. P. Walsh, CC BY-SA 4.0; Latin markup adapted by latindictionary.co.