Etymograph

English

quadratic

Quadratic comes from Latin quadrātus ‘square, squared, having been made square, made…’, 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 CEquattuor1‘four’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEquadrus1‘square’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEquadrō2‘make square’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEquadrātus3‘square, squared, having been made square, made into a square shape’
  7. Frenchc. 1600–presentquadratique3
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1809quadratic3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin quadro
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Latin quadratus
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English quadratic
  4. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1809, Charles Hutton, The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge: “If the binomial roots of a series of quadratics…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kʷetwṓrWiktionary, Latin quadroreconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*kʷettwōrWiktionary, Latin quadro‘four’reconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEquattuorWiktionary, Latin quadro‘four’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEquadrusWiktionary, Latin quadro‘square’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEquadrōWiktionary, Latin quadratus‘make square’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEquadrātusWiktionary, English quadratic‘square, squared, having been made square, made into a square shape’
  7. Frenchc. 1600–presentquadratiqueWiktionary, English quadratic
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1809quadraticWiktionary, English quadratic. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1809, Charles Hutton, The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge: “If the binomial roots of a series of quadratics…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *kʷetwṓr

four, 29 more

through Latin quattuor ‘four’

cater, cadre, quadruple, quatre, cuatro, quatrain, 27 more

through Latin quadrus ‘square’

squadron, 13 more

through Latin quadrō ‘make square’

square, squad, quarry, 10 more

Today it means

adj Square-shaped.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “quadratic”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin quadro, Latin quadratus. 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 / quadratic

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