▪ I. quadri-
(ˈkwɒdrɪ)
a first element used in combs. with the sense ‘having, consisting of, connected with, etc. four (things specified)’. The L. quadri- was so employed in a few words during the classical period, as in the ns. quadriduum, quadriennium, quadrirēmis, quadrivium, the adjs. quadrifidus, quadrijugus, and the pple. quadripartītus. In the post-classical and later language such compounds are much more numerous, esp. adj. forms, as quadriangulus, -ennis, -formis, -gamus, -laterus, etc. (See also quadru-.)
The earliest examples in English are quadrangle, quadripartite, quadrivial, which are as old as the 15th c.; others, as quadrifid, quadriform, quadrilateral, quadrireme were introduced later, esp. in the 17th c. By far the greater number of quadri- compounds, however, belong to the language of modern science, the employment of the prefix in popular words being much rarer than that of bi- and tri-. A considerable number of those given in the following lists are self-explanatory, and in these cases the definition is omitted.
I. Adjectives with the sense ‘having or consisting of four —’, ‘characterized by the number four’, as a. quadriˈbasic Chem., applied to certain acids containing four atoms of displaceable hydrogen (Webster, 1864); ˌquadricenˈtennial, consisting of, connected with, a period of four centuries (Cent. Dict. 1891); quadriˈfarious [L. -farius], fourfold, having four parts; quadriˈfocal, having four foci (Cent. Dict.); quadriˈfrontal [L. -frons], having four faces; quadriˈgabled; quadriˈjugal [L. -jugus], four-horsed, belonging to a four-horse chariot; quadriˈlibral [L. lībris], containing four pounds; quadriˈlingual [late L. -linguis], using, written in, etc., four languages; quaˈdrimanous = quadrumanous; † quadrimood (see quot.); quadriˈnomial, -ˈnomical, -ˈnominal, consisting of four (algebraic) terms; quaˈdriparous Ornith., laying only four eggs; quadriˈpaschal, including four passovers (cf. bipaschal, tripaschal s.v. tri- 1); quadriˈplanar; quaˈdriplicate(d), having four folds or pleats (Craig, 1848); quadrisyˈllabic(al), † -ˈsyllable, -ˈsyllabous [late L. -syllabus].
| 1977 Times 19 Apr. 14/6 The three-year *quadricentennial celebrations [in California] of Sir Francis Drake's voyage round the world. |
| a 1745 Swift To George-Nim-Dan-Dean Esq. Wks. 1841 I. 762 Hail human compound *quadrifarious..Invincible as wight Briareus. a 1859 De Quincey Posth. Wks. (1891) I. 235 All the quadrifarious virtue of the scholastic ethics. |
| 1886 Academy 25 Apr. 288/1 The famous *Quadrifrontal Roman Arch [at Tripoli]. |
| 1892 A. Heales Archit. Ch. Denmark 69 On the north is a staircase, the angles are of brick; *quadrigabled. |
| 1819 H. Busk Vestriad iv. 636 Aurora's neighing steeds..draw on her *quadrijugal car. |
| 1674 S. Jeake Arith. (1696) 91 Some mention a Triple Choenix, as Bilibral, *Quadrilibral, and Quinquelibral. |
| 1876 Birch Rede Lect. Egypt 41 A *quadrilingual stele at Suez, in Egyptian hieroglyphs, Persian, Median, and Babylonian cuneiform. 1962 Quadrilingual [see francophone n. and a.]. 1969 Internat. Herald Tribune 6 Nov. 14/2 (Advt.), Young American, excellent education U.S.A.-Europe, Ph.D. quadri-lingual, well traveled,..seeks unparalleled + challenging position. |
| 1609 Douland Ornith. Microl. 18 Diapente..is the leaping of one Voyce to another by a fift, consisting of three Tones, and a semitone..Therefore Pontifex cals it the *Quadri-moode Interuall. |
| 1727 Bailey vol. II, *Quadrinomial,..consisting of four Denominations or Names. 1866–99 W. R. Hamilton Elem. Quatern. (ed. 2) I. 245 The principal use which we shall here make of the standard quadrinomial form. |
| 1883 *Quadripaschal [see tripaschal s.v. tri- I. 1]. 1908 J. Hastings Dict. Christ II. 185/1 The long period theory..holds that there were four Passovers in the ministry, and is hence called the quadripaschal theory. |
| 1882 Salmon Anal. Geom. 3 Dimens. (ed. 4) 23 We shall use these *quadriplanar coordinates, whenever..our equations can be materially simplified. |
| 1883 Contemp. Rev. Dec. 938 The old absurdity of reading everything possible into *quadrisyllabic feet. |
| 1656 Blount Glossogr., *Quadrisyllable,..that hath four syllables. |
| 1678 Phillips (ed. 4), List Barbarous Words, *Quadrisyllabous, consisting of four syllables. |
b. Bot. and
Zool., as
quadriˈalate, having four alæ or wing-like processes (
Syd. Soc. Lex. 1897);
quadriˈannulate, having or consisting of four rings;
quadriarˈticulate(d), having four joints;
quadriˈcapsular,
-ˈcapsulate;
quadriˈcarinate, having four carinæ or keel-shaped lines,
spec. of an orthopterous insect (
Cent. Dict. 1891);
quadriˈcellular;
quadriˈciliate, having four cilia or hairs;
quadriˈcipital, having four heads or points of origin, as the quadriceps muscle;
ˈquadricorn, having four horns (
ibid.); so
-cornous (Blount
Glossogr. 1656);
quadriˈcostate, having four costæ or ribs;
quadricotyˈledonous, having two deeply divided (and thus apparently four) cotyledons;
ˌquadricreˈscentic,
-toid, having four crescents; of teeth: having four crescentic folds;
quadriˈcuspid,
-ˈcuspidate, of teeth: having four cusps or points;
quadriˈdigitate, having four digits or similar divisions;
quadriˈfoliate, consisting of four leaves; also
= quadriˈfoliolate, of a compound leaf: having four leaflets growing from the same point;
quadriˈfurcate(d), having four forks or branches;
quadriˈgeminal,
-ous, belonging to the
corpora quadrigemina at the base of the brain; also
= quadriˈgeminate, formed of four similar parts, fourfold;
quadriˈglandular;
quadriˈhilate (see
quot.);
quadriˈjugate,
-ˈjugous, of a leaf: having four pairs of leaflets (Martyn, 1793);
quadriˈlaminar,
-ate;
quadriˈlobate,
-lobed;
quadriˈlocular,
-ate, having four compartments;
quadriˈmembral;
quadriˈnodal;
quadriˈnucleate;
quadriˈpennate, having four wings (Worcester, 1846);
† quadriˈphyllous (see
quot.);
quadriˈpinnate, having four pinnæ or side leaflets;
quadriˈpolar, having four poles or centres of division in a cell;
quadriˈpulmonary, of spiders: having two pairs of pulmonary sacs (
Cent. Dict.);
quadriˈradiate (see
quot.);
quadriˈseptate, having four septa or dissepiments;
quadriˈserial, arranged in four series or rows;
quadriˈsetose, having four setæ or bristles (
Cent. Dict.);
quadriˈspiral;
† quadrisulc [late L.
-sulcus],
quadriˈsulcate(d), having four grooves or furrows, having a four-parted hoof;
quadrituˈbercular,
-tuˈberculate;
ˈquadrivalve,
-ˈvalvular;
quadriˈvoltine [
It. volta time, turn], (of a silkworm moth) producing four broods in a year; also as
n.| 1856–8 W. Clark Van der Hoeven's Zool. I. 321 Abdomen *quadriannulate, oval. |
| 1826 Kirby & Sp. Entomol. IV. 325 *Quadriarticulate. |
| 1834 M{supc}Murtrie Cuvier's Anim. Kingd. 361 The Insects..are remarkable..for their short *quadriarticulated tarsi. |
| 1731 Bailey vol. II, *Quadricapsular,..having a seed pod divided into four partitions. |
| 1857 Berkeley Cryptog. Bot. 163 The biciliate spores..do not arise..from the same tissue as the *quadriciliate. |
| 1854 Owen Skel. & Teeth in Circ. Sc., Organ. Nat. I. 299 The three true molars are *quadricuspid. |
| 1839–47 Todd Cycl. Anat. III. 264/2 The three *quadricuspidate grinders of the upper jaw. |
| 1858 Mayne Expos. Lex., Quadridigitatus,..applied to a leaf, the petiole of which terminates in four folioles..*quadridigitate. |
| 1866 Treas. Bot. 947/1 *Quadrifoliate. 1884 Bower & Scott De Bary's Phaner. 341 The leaves..are ranged in alternating, usually quadrifoliate whorls. |
| 1777 Pennant Zool. IV. 7 Cr. with a *quadri-furcated snout. |
| 1839–47 Todd Cycl. Anat. III. 686/1 The *quadrigeminal bodies rest upon two processes of fibrous matter. 1856 Todd & Bowman Phys. Anat. II. 39 From the quadrigeminal tubercles to the chiasma. |
| 1866 Treas. Bot. 947/1 *Quadrihilate, having four apertures, as is the case in certain kinds of pollen. |
| 1819 Pantologia X, *Quadrilobate leaf. 1839–47 Todd Cycl. Anat. III. 607/2 These cords..encircle the œsophagus above which they develope a quadrilobate ganglion. |
| 1775 Jenkinson tr. Linnæus Brit. Plants 255 *Quadrilocular. 1835 Lindley Introd. Bot. (1839) I. 176 The anther could not originally be quadrilocular, because it opens by two fissures only. |
| 1956 New Biol. XXI. 93 At last the little *quadrinucleate amoeba breaks free as a whole. 1973 Nature 3 Aug. 293/1 Of these multinucleate compartments 88% were binucleate, 9% were trinucleate, and 3% were quadrinucleate. |
| 1731 Bailey vol. II, *Quadriphyllous,..Plants whose flowers have [four] leaves or petals. |
| 1881 Gard. Chron. XVI. 685 The fronds are *quadripinnate in the lower and more compound portions. |
| 1867 J. Hogg Microsc. ii. ii. 400 Some Smyrna sponges, and species of Geodia, have four rays—*quadriradiate. |
| 1887 W. Phillips Brit. Discomycetes 149 Pallid; cups clavate, substipitate; margin incurved; sporidia..long, *quadriseptate. |
| 1839 Johnston in Proc. Berw. Nat. Club I. No. 7. 199 Suckers of the..tentacula *quadriserial. |
| 1693 Phil. Trans. XVII. 934 Musk he takes to be..secreted in its proper Cystis near the Navil of a *Quadrisulc Animal like a Deer. |
| 1775 Jenkinson tr. Linnæus Brit. Plants 255 *Quadrisulcated. |
| 1856–8 W. Clark Van der Hoeven's Zool. II. 753 The two other true molars *quadrituberculate. |
| 1785 Martyn Rousseau's Bot. xvi. 199 The capsule is *quadrivalve [ed. 1794 quadrivalvular] or opens into four parts. 1875 H. C. Wood Therap. (1879) 268 Readily distinguished by its..quadrivalve spinescent capsules. |
| 1762 Russell in Phil. Trans. LII. 556 What appeared to be the mouth, was situated a little below the apex, and was *quadrivalvular. |
| 1888 *Quadrivoltine [see bivoltine a.]. 1969 R. F. Chapman Insects xxxv. 719 In Bombyx mori..univoltine, bivoltine and quadrivoltine strains are known. |
II. Sbs.,
vbs., and
advs., chiefly from
adjs. in I:
a. quadricenˈtennial, a four hundredth anniversary;
quadriceps (extensor) [
cf. biceps], a large muscle of the leg, having four heads;
ˈquadrichord [late L.
-chordum]
= tetrachord;
ˈquadricorn, an animal with four horns or antennæ (Brande
Dict. Sci. 1842);
ˈquadriˌcycle, a four-wheeled cycle; also
quadracycle;
quadriˈfariously adv., in a fourfold manner;
ˈquadrifoil = quatrefoil;
ˌquadrifurˈcation, a division into four branches;
quaˈdrigamist [L.
-gamus], one four times married;
ˈquadrilogue, an account by four persons; a dialogue between four;
quaˈdrilogy, a tetralogy;
quadriˈparesis Med., paresis of both arms and both legs; hence
quadripaˈretic a.;
quadriˈpennate, a four-winged insect (Brande, 1842);
quadriˈporticus, a colonnade or peristyle round a quadrangular building or space;
ˌquadrisacraˈmentalist,
-sacramenˈtarian, a name applied to some 16th c. German reformers who held Baptism, the Eucharist, Confession and Orders to be sacraments (Blunt
Dict. Sects 1874);
ˈquadrisect v., to divide into four equal parts; hence
quadriˈsection;
quadriˈsulcate, a four-toed animal (Brande, 1842);
quadriˈsyllable, a word of four syllables;
quaˈdrivalence, the power of an atom or radical to combine with four univalent atoms;
quadriˈvalency = quadrivalence;
ˈquadrivalve, a plant with a quadrivalvular seed-pod; an instrument,
esp. a speculum, with four valves;
† quaˈdrivirate, a union of four men.
| 1882 Standard 23 Aug. 5/1 To celebrate their *quadricentennial with a banquet. |
| 1840 G. V. Ellis Anat. 636 They separate the *quadriceps extensor muscle from the others. |
| 1585 T. Washington tr. Nicholay's Voy. ii. ix. 42 Terpandre the famous Musition, which joined the seventh string to the *quadricord. 1728 R. North Mem. Music (1846) 34 That these might augment the voice is certain, but then they must be tuned to the quadrichord. |
| 1884 Cycl. Tour. Club Gaz. Mar. 86/1 A *quadricycle of the form of the Coventry. 1963 Bird & Hutton-Stott Veteran Motor Car 90 Between about 1898 and 1908 more than 100 different makes of bicycle, tricycle, quadricycle, tricar, fore-car and light car proper..were powered by De Dion Bouton engines. 1972 Sci. Amer. May 104/3 By the second half of 1891..the Peugeot quadricycle..had covered the 1,200 kilometers (745 miles) from Paris to Brest and back to Paris in 10 days. 1979 Time 8 Jan. 80/3 Accordingly, Wilson is proposing a two-seat lunar vehicle or quadracycle, made of lightweight metals. |
| 1822 T. Taylor Apuleius, On God of Socrates 300 There are four most known elements, nature being as it were *quadrifariously separated into large parts. |
| 1845 Ld. Campbell Chancellors (1857) I. xiii. 198 The scholar..stuffs his volume with firstling violets, roses, and *quadrifoils. |
| 1884 Blackmore Tommy Upm. II. 316 A convenient *quadrifurcation. |
| 1656 Blount Glossogr., *Quadrigamist. 1865 Pall Mall G. 10 Feb. 5/2 The swindler bigamist or quadrigamist, we forget the precise number of his marriages. |
| a 1556 Cranmer Wks. (Parker Soc.) I. 66 Your wise dialogue, or *quadrilogue, between the curious questioner, the foolish answerer, your wise catholic man standing by, and the mediator. 1570–6 Lambarde Peramb. Kent (1826) 358 The Quadriloge of Beckets life. a 1656 Ussher in Gutch Coll. Cur. I. 46 Thomas Becket (as we read in the Quadrilogue, or Quadripartite History of his Life). |
| 1865 Athenæum No. 1950. 355/3 His *quadrilogy of Nibelungen operas. |
| 1956 Jrnl. Neurol., Neurosurg. & Psychiatry XIX. 170/2 The patient had a *quadriparesis, complete in the left leg and more marked in the left arm than the right. 1977 Lancet 27 Aug. 461/1 By discharge on day 32 he was fully mobile with only a residual spastic quadriparesis. |
| 1956 Jrnl. Neurol., Neurosurg. & Psychiatry XIX. 163/1 The patients remained *quadriparetic and almost totally unresponsive from the time of the accident. |
| 1849 Freeman Archit. 276 The form of Amru's mosque..being a mere *quadriporticus round an open space. 1865 C. R. Weld Last Winter Rome 97 Among the most remarkable features of this building..are the Atrium and quadriporticus. |
| 1809 Cavendish in Phil. Trans. XCIX. 227 In *quadrisecting, the error of the middle point = 2ε. |
| 1673 Wallis in Rigaud Corr. Sci. Men (1841) II. 571 We find, by the *quadrisection of an arch or angle, a biquadratic equation of four roots. 1809 Cavendish in Phil. Trans. XCIX. 227 In the method of continued bisection, the two opposite points must be found by quadrisection. |
| 1706 Phillips (ed. Kersey), *Quadrisyllable, a Word made up of four Syllables. 1827 Hare Guesses Ser. i. (1873) 109 Our dignity will not condescend to enter into any thing short of a quadrisyllable. 1884 Traill in Macm. Mag. Oct. 444/1, I will end the sentence with ignoramus..a quadrisyllable. |
| 1932 Nature 19 Nov. 756/2 The *quadrivalency of carbon. 1937 A. Findlay Hundred Yrs. of Chem. ii. 40 The theory of molecular constitution..rested on two main postulates, the quadrivalency of carbon..and the capacity of the carbon atoms for mutual linking. |
| 1731 Bailey vol. II, *Quadrivalves,..those Plants whose seed pods open in four valves or partitions. 1872 T. G. Thomas Dis. Women (ed. 3) 76 Of valvular specula the bivalve of Ricord..and the quadrivalve of Charrière have long been popular. |
| 1654 Gayton Pleas. Notes iv. xvii. 258 This blood⁓lesse victory, over a *Quadrivirate of Mummers. |
b. Math. Chiefly in sense ‘quadric’, ‘of the second degree or order’, as
ˈquadricone,
-coˈvariant,
-deˈrivative,
quadrinˈvariant; also
quadriˈnomial, an expression consisting of four terms.
| 1856 A. Cayley Wks. (1889) II. 272 No. 9 is the *quadricovariant, or Hessian. |
| 1706 W. Jones Syn. Palmar. Matheseos 171 To raise any..*Quadri-nomial..to any given Power. 1827 Hutton Course Math. I. 167 When the compound quantity consists of two terms, it is called a Binomial,..when of four terms a Quadrinomial. |
| 1856 A. Cayley Wks. (1889) II. 271 No. 1 is the quadric itself; no. 2 is the *quadrinvariant. 1884 W. R. W. Roberts in Hermathena X. 182 Functions..expressed by the quadrinvariants of the quantics [etc.]. |
c. Chem. In the names of chemical compounds, denoting the presence of four atoms or equivalents of an element or radical in a compound, as
quadrioxalate,
quadri-phosphate,
quadri-stearate,
quadri-sulphide. Now superseded by
tetra-.
| 1836–41 Brande Chem. (ed. 5) 1067 Then ether would be a compound of 1 atom of *quadrihydrocarbon and 1 of water. |
| 1826 Henry Elem. Chem. I. 591 *Quadriphosphate of lime. 1836–41 Brande Chem. (ed. 5) 685 The phosphoric glass..is considered by Dr. Thomson as a definite compound, which he has termed quadriphosphate of lime. |
| 1849 D. Campbell Inorg. Chem. 299 *Quadrisulphide of molybdenum, MoS4. |
| 1897 Allbutt's Syst. Med. IV. 293 It [uric acid] is present in the urine in the form of a *quadriurate. |
▪ II. quadri- occas. erron. form of
quadru-.