Etymologically
Log in

quadruplo

History Permalink

Etymology and origin of the Latin word quadruplo

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
c. 250–184 BC Plautus, Persa More words from the 3rd century BC
Ultimate origin
Latin quadruplus
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin quadruplus
Latin quadruplō
English quadruple
Derivations

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ˈkʷa.drʊ.pɫoː][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [ˈkʷaː.dru.plo][1]

Forms

quadruplō (present infinitive quadruplāre, supine quadruplātum); first conjugation, no perfect stem[1] Plautus writes it with ⟨-pul-⟩.[2]

Etymology

It is formed from Latin quadruplus + -ō, from the adjective meaning “fourfold”.[2][1][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The OLD's earliest citation is from Plautus' Persa, where the deponent form means to act as a quadruplator, a speaker saying he does not want to be one.[2] Plautus lived c. 250–184 BC.[4]

Semantic evolution

In the sense “to make fourfold” it belongs to later legal Latin: Lewis and Short call it post-classical and cite it from the Digest, which also has the phrase numerus quadruplatus, as well as from Ambrose.[5] The OLD gives the perfect quadruplāvī,[2] which Wiktionary does not record.[1] English quadruple comes from it through French quadrupler.[3]

Timeline

  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses the deponent form for acting as a quadruplator.[2][4]
  • before 223 AD – Ulpian, quoted in the Digest, uses it for increasing a sum fourfold.[2][6][4]
  • c. 340–397 AD – Ambrose uses it.[5][6][4]
  • late 14th century – English takes it, through French quadrupler, as the verb quadruple.[3]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To make fourfold, quadruple, multiply by four.[2][5][6][1]
  2. (deponent) To act as a quadruplator.[2]

Word family

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  5. ^ a b c Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ a b c Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
Cite this entry

“Quadruplo.” Etymologically, 8 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/la/quadruplo. Accessed 8 Nov. 2026.

Last edited on . ·