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quadratura

Etymology and origin of the Latin word quadratura

History Permalink
Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
Chalcidius
Ultimate origin
Proto-Indo-European (*kʷetwóres)
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin quadro
Latin quadratura

Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [kʷa.draːˈtuː.ra][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [kʷa.draˈtuː.ra][1]

Forms

quadrātūra f (genitive quadrātūrae); first declension[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin quadrō (“to make square”) + -tūra, from quadrus “square” and quattuor “four”.[2][1] De Vaan traces ⟨quattuor⟩ to Proto-Indo-European *kʷetwṓr (“four”), with ⟨quat-⟩ from zero-grade forms such as ⟨*kʷtru-⟩, cognate with Oscan ⟨pettiur⟩ “four”.[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Gaffiot cites Chalcidius, and Lewis & Short call it post-classical.[4][5]

Semantic evolution

It meant a making square, squaring, quadrature, so circulī quadrātūra “the squaring of the circle”, as in Chalcidius; in surveying the division of land into squares; and in Vopiscus a square.[2][5][4]

Medieval Latin used it for building stone and a quarry.[6] British Medieval Latin used it for squaring, especially of the circle.[7] English quadrature and German Quadratur are from it.[1][8]

Timeline

  • c. 300 AD – Chalcidius uses it of quadrature.[4][8]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A squaring, quadrature.[5][4]
  2. (surveying) Division of land into squares.[2]
  3. (Medieval Latin) Building stone; a quarry.[6]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  4. ^ a b c d Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  5. ^ a b c Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ a b Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
  7. ^ Latham, R. E., D. R. Howlett, R. K. Ashdowne, et al. (1975–2013), Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources, London: British Academy / Oxford University Press
  8. ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
Cite this entry

“Quadratura.” Etymologically, 17 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/quadratura. Accessed 17 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·