Etymograph

English

carreau

Carreau comes from French carreau ‘square’, from Latin quattuor ‘four’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *kʷetwṓr.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kʷetwṓr1reconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*kʷettwōr1‘four’reconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEquattuor2‘four’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEquadrus3‘square’
  5. Vulgar Latinc. 100–700 CE*quadrellus3reconstructed
  6. Old Frenchc. 842–1400quarel3‘square block of stone’
  7. Frenchc. 1600–presentcarreau4‘square’
  8. Englishearliest quotation 2013carreau4

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin quattuor
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Latin quadrus
  3. 3 Wiktionary, French carreau
  4. 4 Wiktionary, English carreau
  5. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2013, Jeffrey R. Kerr-Ritchie: “In 1809 and 1814, land reform in southern and…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kʷetwṓrWiktionary, Latin quattuorreconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*kʷettwōrWiktionary, Latin quattuor‘four’reconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEquattuorWiktionary, Latin quadrus‘four’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEquadrusWiktionary, French carreau‘square’
  5. Vulgar Latinc. 100–700 CE*quadrellusWiktionary, French carreaureconstructed
  6. Old Frenchc. 842–1400quarelWiktionary, French carreau‘square block of stone’
  7. Frenchc. 1600–presentcarreauWiktionary, English carreau‘square’
  8. Englishearliest quotation 2013carreauWiktionary, English carreau. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2013, Jeffrey R. Kerr-Ritchie: “In 1809 and 1814, land reform in southern and…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *kʷetwṓr

four, 26 more

through Latin quattuor ‘four’

squadron, cater, quarry, quadruple, cadre, quatre, cuatro, quatrain, 24 more

through Latin quadrus ‘square’

squad, square, quadrant, quadratic, quadra, 11 more

Today it means

noun A Haitian unit of land, 100 square pas: roughly 1.3 hectares or 3.2 acres.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “carreau”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin quattuor, Latin quadrus, French carreau. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *kʷetwṓr / carreau

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