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quadrans

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Etymology and origin of the Latin word quadrans

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
c. 180–102 BC, Lucilius
Ultimate origin
Latin (quattuor)
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin quadro
Latin quadratura
Latin quadrans

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ˈkʷa.drãːs], [ˈkʷad.rãːs][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [ˈkʷaː.drans][1]

Forms

quadrāns m (genitive quadrantis); third declension[1]

Etymology

Used as a noun, it is the present participle from Latin quadrō (“to make square”).[2][3] De Vaan lists it among the derivatives of quattuor (“four”),[4] and Etymonline traces that numeral to Proto-Indo-European *kwetwer- (“four”).[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

De Vaan and the OLD find it first in Lucilius, as the name of a coin worth a quarter of an as;[4][2] Köbler's earliest source is Cato.[5]

Semantic evolution

As the smallest coin in common use it became a byword for something of very little value, a farthing: Horace writes of a man dying poorer by a single quadrāns.[2][6] Vitruvius uses it of Greek coins worth a quarter of an obol.[2] It is also a unit of measure: a quarter of a Roman pound in Columella, a quarter of a sextārius in Varro, a quarter of a iūgerum of land in Livy, and a quarter of a digit as a length.[2] More generally it is a fourth part of anything:[2][6] Velleius writes of a law that ordered a quarter of their debts to be paid to creditors, and hērēs ex quadrante is an heir to a quarter of an estate.[2][6] In medieval Latin it is a quarter of a mansus, a measure of land, and a quarter of a loaf of bread.[7] English quadrant was borrowed from it through Old French, first for a quarter of a day.[3]

Timeline

  • c. 180–102 BC – Lucilius names the coin.[2][4][5]
  • 116–27 BC – Varro uses it as a liquid measure.[2][5]
  • 65–8 BC – Horace uses it for a trifling sum.[2][5]
  • 1st century AD – Columella uses it as a weight.[2][5]
  • late 14th century – English quadrant is recorded, at first for a quarter of a day.[3]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A coin worth a quarter of an as.[2][6]
  2. (as a token of the smallest value) A farthing.[2][8]
  3. (with a genitive) A coin worth a quarter (of another coin).[2]
  4. (as a weight) A quarter of a Roman pound.[2]
  5. (as a liquid measure) A quarter of a sextārius.[2]
  6. (of land) A quarter of a iūgerum;[2] (of length) a quarter of a digit.[2]
  7. A fourth part, quarter (of any quantity); hērēs ex quadrante, heir to a quarter of an estate.[2][6]
  8. (Medieval Latin) A quarter of a mansus; a measure of land; a quarter of a loaf.[7]

Word family

  • quadrantal
  • quadrantālis
  • quadrantārius

References

  1. ^ a b c 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 r s Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b c de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  5. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  6. ^ a b c d e Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ a b Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
  8. ^ Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
Cite this entry

“Quadrans.” Etymologically, 20 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/quadrans. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

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