Etymograph

English

quadrate

Quadrate comes from Latin quadrātus ‘square’, from 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 CEquadra2‘a square’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEquadrō2‘to make four-cornered, square, put in order, intransitive be square’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEquadrātus2‘square’past participle of quadrō
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500quadrat2
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1563quadrate2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin quattuor
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English quadrate
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1563, John Foxe: “[…]figures some rounde, some triangle, some quadrate,[…]”.

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, English quadrate‘four’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEquadraWiktionary, English quadrate‘a square’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEquadrōWiktionary, English quadrate‘to make four-cornered, square, put in order, intransitive be square’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEquadrātusWiktionary, English quadrate‘square’past participle of quadrō
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500quadratWiktionary, English quadrate
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1563quadrateWiktionary, English quadrate. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1563, John Foxe: “[…]figures some rounde, some triangle, some quadrate,[…]”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *kʷetwṓr

four, 30 more

through Latin quattuor ‘four’

cater, squadron, cadre, quatre, cuatro, quatrain, 28 more

through Latin quadrō ‘to make four-cornered, square, put in order,…’

square, squad, quarry, 10 more

Another origin of quadrate

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kʷetwṓrreconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*kʷettwōr‘four’reconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEquattuor‘four’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEquadrus‘square’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEquadrō‘make square’next step skipped: Latin quadrātus
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEquadrātumperfect passive participle of quadrō
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500quadrat
  8. Englishtodayquadrate

Today it means

adj Having four equal sides, the opposite sides parallel, and four right angles; square.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “quadrate”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin quattuor. 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 / quadrate

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