Etymograph

English

quarto

Quarto comes from Latin quartus ‘fourth’.

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEquartus1‘fourth’
  2. Englishearliest quotation 1880quarto1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English quarto
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1880, William Blades, The Enemies of Books: “Beneath an old ebony table were two long carved…”.

Earlier history not traced here. See Wiktionary.

Lineage

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEquartusWiktionary, English quarto‘fourth’
  2. Englishearliest quotation 1880quartoWiktionary, English quarto. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1880, William Blades, The Enemies of Books: “Beneath an old ebony table were two long carved…”

Every English word from Latin quartus

Today it means

noun A size of paper (7.5"-10" x 10"-12.5" or 190-254 x 254-312 mm). Formed by folding and cutting one of several standard sizes of paper (15"-20" x 20"-25" or 381-508 x 508-635 mm) twice to form 4 leaves (eight sides).

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “quarto”. 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 / Latin quartus / quarto

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