Etymologically
Log in

quadrus

Etymology and origin of the Latin word quadrus

History Permalink
Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
Quintilian
Ultimate origin
Latin (quattuor)

Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [ˈkʷa.drʊs][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈkʷaː.drus][1]

Forms

quadrus (feminine quadra, neuter quadrum); first/second-declension adjective[1]

Etymology

It comes from the root of quattuor “four”, as in quadri- and quārtus.[1][2][3] The adjective is not attested before Late Latin, but its feminine and neuter are Classical as the nouns quadra “square table” and quadrum “square”.[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler's first source is Quintilian, whom he dates c. 35–95/96 AD.[4] Lewis and Short call it post-classical, citing Palladius and the Vulgate.[2]

Semantic evolution

It meant square, as a square boundary stone, Palladius' square store-room and the Vulgate's quadrī lapidēs “hewn stones”.[2][3] In Ecclesiastical Latin it meant square.[5]

In Medieval Latin it was a squared stone, ashlar, a frame, a fourth part of an inheritance and a land measure, and in music b quadrum was the natural sign.[6][7] It survives in Italian quadro and Spanish cuadro “picture”, and through a Vulgar Latin *exquadra in Old French esquarre, the source of English square in the mid-13th century.[1][8]

Timeline

  • c. 35–95/96 AD – Quintilian uses it.[4]
  • 390–406 AD – The Vulgate has quadrī lapidēs.[2][4]
  • mid-13th century – English square is recorded.[8]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Square.[2][3]
  2. (Medieval Latin, as noun) A squared stone, ashlar; a frame.[6][7]

Word family

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  3. ^ a b c Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  4. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  5. ^ Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
  6. ^ a b Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
  7. ^ a b 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 Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
Cite this entry

“Quadrus.” Etymologically, 16 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/quadrus. Accessed 16 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·