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quatrième

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Etymology and origin of the French word quatrième

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
c. 1300 Macé de la Charité, Bible More words from the 13th century
Ultimate origin
Latin quattuor
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
French quatre
French quatrième

Pronunciation

  • /ka.tʁi.jɛm/[1]

Forms

quatrième (plural quatrièmes)[1] Old French quatroysme;[2][3][4] Middle French quatriesme.[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is formed from French quatre + -ième.[2][1][5] The numeral is from Latin quattuor (“four”).[6][7] The new ordinal all but replaced the older quart.[2][3][8]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found about 1300 as vint et quatroysme “twenty-fourth” in Macé de la Charité's Bible.[2][3]

Semantic evolution

The form quatriesme is found from about 1360, in Froissart.[3][4] As a noun it was used from the end of the 14th century.[2] From 1379 to Cotgrave (1611) it named a due of a quarter levied on goods.[2][9]

Most of its special uses are elliptical: a sequence of four cards of the same suit at piquet (Richelet, 1680), a pupil in the quatrième class (Académie, 1694), the fourth floor of a house (1812) and the fourth gear of a car.[2][3][10]

Timeline

  • c. 1300 – Quatroysme appears in Macé de la Charité's Bible.[2][3]
  • c. 1360 – The spelling quatriesme appears in Froissart.[3][4]
  • 1379 – Used as a noun for a due levied on goods.[2]
  • 1551 – The adverb quatriesmement is recorded.[2][3]
  • 1680 – Richelet records the piquet sense.[2]
  • 1694 – The Académie records the school-class sense.[2]
  • 1812 – Jouy uses le quatrième for the fourth floor.[2][10]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Fourth; coming after the third: la quatrième fois.[8][2][1]
  2. En quatrième vitesse (figurative, familiar): very fast.[8]

Noun

  1. A person or thing in fourth place: Elle a fini quatrième.[8][4]
  2. (masculine) The fourth floor of a building: Ils habitent au quatrième.[8][4][2]
  3. (feminine) The fourth gear of a vehicle: passer la quatrième.[8][4]
  4. (feminine) The third year of French secondary school.[8][4]
  5. (feminine) At cards, a sequence of four cards of the same suit.[4][2]
  6. (dance) The fourth basic position of classical ballet.[8]

Word family

  • quatrièmement

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  5. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  6. ^ Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  7. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 2, 1440a
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  9. ^ Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  10. ^ a b Quemada, Bernard, ed. (1959–2006), Datations et documents lexicographiques (Base historique du vocabulaire français, BHVF), Paris: Klincksieck / CNRS / Champion; ATILF

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Quatrième.” Etymologically, 15 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/quatri%C3%A8me. Accessed 15 Nov. 2026.

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