LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
numeral

quattuor

quattuor (indeclinable)
Classical[ˈkʷat.tu.ɔr]Ecclesiastical[ˈkʷat.tu.or]
№ 867 of the 1,000 commonest wordsMille Verba core vocabulary

Meaning

  1. indeclinablefour; 4
    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.8 CE, Ovidius, Metamorphoses 1.116–118
    quicquid autem ex volucribus quattuor tantum habet pedes execrabile erit vobisBut all other flying creeping things, which have four feet, shall be an abomination unto you.c. 347 CE – 420 CE, Hieronymus, Vulgate Leviticus.11.23

Phrases from Meissner's Latin Phrase-Book

quattuor dies continui
four successive days.
obsidionem quattuor menses sustinere
to hold out for four months.

quattŭor, less correctly quātŭor (also written quattor), num. adj. kindr. with Sanscr. catur; Gr. τέτταρες from τέτϝαρες,
I. four: ter quattuor corpora, Enn. ap. Cic. Div. 1, 48, 108 (Ann. v. 96 Vahl.); Plaut. Most. 3, 1, 102; Cic. Univ. 5: ex centum quattuor centuriis, id. Rep. 2, 22, 39: tria aut quattuor paria amicorum, id. Lael. 4, 15; Hor. S. 1, 3, 8; Verg. E. 5, 65; Juv. 5, 47.

Origins

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 *kʷtwr̥- (zero-grade form).

Occitano-Romance
  • Catalanquatre
  • Occitanquatrefrom Old Occitan catre
  • Occitanqüatefrom Old Occitan catre
Ibero-Romance
  • Portuguesequatrofrom Old Galician-Portuguese quatro
  • Spanishcuatrofrom Old Spanish quatro
  • Aragonesequatrefrom Old Navarro-Aragonese quatro
  • Aragonesequatrofrom Old Navarro-Aragonese quatro
  • Asturiancuatrofrom Old Leonese quatro
  • Asturiancuatrufrom Old Leonese quatro
  • Asturiancuetrufrom Old Leonese quatro
  • Leonesecuatrufrom Old Leonese quatro
  • Mirandesequatrofrom Old Leonese quatro
  • Falacuatrufrom Old Galician-Portuguese quatro
Balkan Romance
  • Romanianpatru
  • Aromanianpatru
  • Aromanianpaturu
  • Istro-Romanianpåtru
  • Megleno-Romanianpatru
Italo-Romance
  • Italianquattro
  • Corsicanquattru
  • Galluresecattru
  • Galluresequattru
  • Sabirquatr'from Italian quattro
  • Tarantinoquattfrom Neapolitan quatto
  • Sicilianquattru
  • Sassaresequattru
Gallo-Romance
  • Frenchquatrefrom Old French quatre
  • Franco-Provençalquatro
  • Champenoiscaitrefrom Old French quatre
  • Champenoisquaitrefrom Old French quatre
  • Franc-Comtoisquaitrefrom Old French quatre
  • Normanquatefrom Old French quatre
  • Normanquatrefrom Old French quatre
  • Normanquat'from Old French quatre
  • Picardquatefrom Old French quatre
  • Wallooncwatefrom Old French quatre
Borrowings
  • Frenchquatuor
Dalmatian
  • unknownquater
  • unknownquatar
  • unknownkuatri
  • unknownčatro
  • unknownquattro
North Italian
  • Emilianquâter
  • Friuliancuatri
  • Istriotquatro
  • Ladincater
  • Ligurianquattro
  • Lombardquatterfrom Old Lombard quatro
  • Lombardquatarfrom Old Lombard quatro
  • Lombardquaterfrom Old Lombard quatro
  • Lombardquasarfrom Old Lombard quatro
  • Piedmontesequatr
Insular Romance
  • Campidanesequattru
  • Campidanesequatturu
  • Campidanesebatturu
  • Logudoresebattor
  • Nuoresebattor

In English words that came into English from quattuor

  • quadruplequadruplus
  • cadrequadrum
  • quadrennialquadriennium
  • quadripartitequadripartītus
  • quadrigaquadrīgae
  • quadricepsquadriceps
  • quadruplexquadruplex
  • quadriviumquadrivium
  • quadripartitionquadripartītiō
  • quadrumanousquattuor
  • quadranglequadrangulum
  • quattuorvigintillionquattuor
  • quadruplicityquadruplex
  • quattuordecillionquattuordecim
  • quadratequadrātus
  • quadriporticusquadriporticus
  • quattuortrigintillionquattuor
  • cotocubitum
  • carrel*quadrellus

Quick answers

What does quattuor mean in Latin?
quattuor, a numeral, means “four; 4”.
How do you pronounce quattuor?
In classical Latin, [ˈkʷat.tu.ɔr]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [ˈkʷat.tu.or].
Which English words come from quattuor?
English words that go back to Latin quattuor include quadrumanous, quattuorvigintillion, quattuortrigintillion, quadruple, cadre and quadrennial.