Etymograph

English

quadratus

Quadratus comes from Latin quadratus ‘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 CEquadro2‘to make square’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEquadratus2‘square, squared, having been made square, made into a square shape’perfect passive participle of quadro
  7. Englishtodayquadratus2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin quadro
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English quadratus

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 CEquadroWiktionary, English quadratus‘to make square’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEquadratusWiktionary, English quadratus‘square, squared, having been made square, made into a square shape’perfect passive participle of quadro
  7. EnglishtodayquadratusWiktionary, English quadratus

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 quadro ‘to make square’

square, squad, quarry, 10 more

Today it means

noun Any of several roughly square or rectangular muscles, e.g. in the abdomen, thigh, and eye socket.

Sources

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

Shirt and support for this word