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 sbs. 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 quadribasic Chem., applied to certain acids containing four atoms of displaceable hydrogen (Webster, 1864); quadricentennial, consisting of, connected with, a period of four centuries (Cent. Dict., 1891); quadrifarious [L. -farius], fourfold, having four parts; quadrifocal, having four foci (Cent. Dict.); quadrifrontal [L. -frons], having four faces; quadrigabled; quadrijugal [L. -jugus], four-horsed, belonging to a four-horse chariot; quadrilibral [L. -lībris], containing four pounds; quadrilingual [late L. -linguis], using, written in, etc., four languages; quadrimanous = QUADRUMANOUS; † quadrimood (see quot.); quadrinomial, -nomical, -nominal, consisting of four (algebraic) terms; quadriparous Ornith., laying only four eggs; quadriplanar; quadriplicate(d), having four folds or pleats (Craig, 1848); quadrisyllabic(al), † -syllable, -syllabous [late L. -syllabus]; quadrivalent Chem., capable of combining with four univalent atoms.
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 April, 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. Jeake, Arith. (1696), 91. Some mention a Triple Choenix, as Bilibral, *Quadrilibral, and Quinquelibral.
1876. Birch, Monum. Hist. Egypt, 41. A *quadrilingual stele at Suez, in Egyptian hieroglyphs, Persian, Median, and Babylonian cuneiform, records the attempt to complete the abandoned canal of Necho.
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.
1882. Salmon, Anal. Geom. 3 Dimens. (ed. 4), 23. We shall use these *quadriplanar coordinates, whenever … our equations can be materially simplified.
1883. Mahaffy, in 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.
1869. Eng. Mech., 12 Nov., 198/3. The elements are classified as … tetratomic or *quadrivalent, having four attractions.
1880. Cleminshaw, trans. Wurtz’ Atom. The., 283. Carbon is quadrivalent and oxygen bivalent.
b. Bot. and Zool., as quadrialate, having four alæ or wing-like processes (Syd. Soc. Lex., 1897); quadriannulate, having or consisting of four rings; quadriarticulate(d), having four joints; quadricapsular, -capsulate; quadricarinate, having four carinæ or keel-shaped lines, spec. of an orthopterous insect (Cent. Dict., 1891); quadricellular; quadriciliate, having four cilia or hairs; quadricipital, having four heads or points of origin, as the quadriceps muscle; quadricorn, having four horns (ibid.); so -cornous (Blount, Glossogr., 1656); quadricostate, having four costæ or ribs; quadricotyledonous, having two deeply divided (and thus apparently four) cotyledons; quadricrescentic, -toid, having four crescents; of teeth: having four crescentic folds; quadricuspid, -cuspidate, of teeth: having four cusps or points; quadridentate(d), having four serrations or indentations; quadridigitate, having four digits or similar divisions; quadrifoliate, consisting of four leaves; also = quadrifoliolate, of a compound leaf: having four leaflets growing from the same point; quadrifurcate(d), having four forks or branches; quadrigeminal, -ous, belonging to the corpora quadrigemina at the base of the brain; also = quadrigeminate, formed of four similar parts, fourfold; quadriglandular; quadrihilate (see quot.); quadrijugate, -jugous, of a leaf: having four pairs of leaflets (Martyn, 1793); quadrilaminar, -ate; quadrilobate, -lobed; quadrilocular, -ate, having four compartments; quadrimembral; quadrinodal; quadrinucleate; quadripennate, having four wings (Worcester, 1846); † quadriphyllous (see quot.); quadripinnate, having four pinnæ or side leaflets; quadripolar, having four poles or centers of division in a cell; quadripulmonary, of spiders: having two pairs of pulmonary sacs (Cent. Dict.); quadriradiate (see quot.); quadriseptate, having four septa or dissepiments; quadriserial, arranged in four series or rows; quadrisetose, having four setæ or bristles (Cent. Dict.); quadrispiral; † quadrisulc [late L. -sulcus], quadrisulcate(d), having four grooves or furrows, having a four-parted hoof; quadritubercular, -tuberculate; quadrivalve, -valvular.
1856–8. W. Clark, Van der Hoeven’s Zool., I. 321. Abdomen *quadriannulate, oval.
1826. Kirby & Sp., Entomol., IV. 334. *Quadriarticulate.
1834. McMurtrie, 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.
1760. J. Lee, Introd. Bot., I. xv. (1765), 39. *Quadridentate, split into four segments.
1828. Stark, Elem. Nat. Hist., II. 159. Body covered with a reddish down…; front quadridentate.
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.
1813. Pantologia, X. *Quadrilobate leaf.
1839–47. Todd’s Cycl. Anat., III. 607/2. These cords … encircle the œsophagus above which they develope a quadrilobate ganglion.
1775. Jenkinson, trans. 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.
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, trans. 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.
II. Sbs., vbs. and advs., chiefly from adjs. in I: quadricentennial, a four hundredth anniversary; quadriceps (extensor) [cf. BICEPS], a large muscle of the leg, having four heads; quadrichord [late L. -chordum] = TETRACHORD; quadricorn, an animal with four horns or antennæ (Brande, Dict. Sci., 1842); quadricycle, a four-wheeled cycle; quadrifariously adv., in a fourfold manner; quadrifoil = QUATREFOIL; quadrifurcation, a division into four branches; quadrigamist [L. -gamus], one four times married; quadrilogue, an account by four persons; a dialogue between four; quadrilogy, a tetralogy; quadripennate, a four-winged insect (Brande, 1842); quadriporticus, a colonnade or peristyle round a quadrangular building or space; quadrisacramentalist, -sacramentarian, a name applied to some 16th-c. German reformers who held Baptism, the Eucharist, Confession and Orders to be sacraments (Blunt, Dict. Sects, 1874); quadrisect v., to divide into four equal parts; hence quadrisection; quadrisulcate, a four-toed animal (Brande, 1842); quadrisyllable, a word of four syllables; quadrivalence, the power of an atom or radical to combine with four univalent atoms; quadrivalent, a quadrivalent element; quadrivalve, a plant with a quadrivalvular seed-pod; an instrument, esp. a speculum, with four valves; † quadrivirate, a union of four men.
1882. Standard, 23 Aug., 5/1. To celebrate their *quadri-centennial with a banquet.
1840. G. V. Ellis, Anat., 636. They separate the *quadriceps extensor muscle from the others.
1585. T. Washington, trans. Nicholay’s Voy., II. ix. 42 b. Terpandre the famous Musition, which ioined the seuenth 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., March, 86/1. A *quadricycle of the form of the Coventry.
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 Gaz., 10 Feb., 5/2. The swindler and trigamist 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, note. 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.
1849. Freeman, Archit., 276. The form of Amru’s mosque … being a mere *quadriporticus round an open space.
1865. C. R. Weld, Last Wint. in 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 = 2 ε.
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.
1880. Cleminshaw, trans. Wurtz’ Atom. The., 211. Carbon is therefore a *quadrivalent.
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 bloodlesse victory, over a *Quadrivirate of Murmers.
b. Math. Chiefly in sense ‘quadric,’ ‘of the second degree or order,’ as quadricone, -covariant, -derivative, quadrinvariant; also quadrinomial, 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, -phosphate, -stearate, -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.
