English
quatre
Quatre comes from French quatre ‘four’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *kʷetwóres.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kʷetwóres1‘four’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEquattuor1‘four’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400quatre1‘four’
- Frenchc. 1600–presentquatre2‘four’
- Englishearliest quotation 1775quatre2
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, French quatre
- 2 Wiktionary, English quatre
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1775, a Connoisseur: “Accordingly the firſt beſt throw upon the dice is…”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kʷetwóresWiktionary, French quatre‘four’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEquattuorWiktionary, French quatre‘four’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400quatreWiktionary, French quatre‘four’
- Frenchc. 1600–presentquatreWiktionary, English quatre‘four’
- Englishearliest quotation 1775quatreWiktionary, English quatre. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1775, a Connoisseur: “Accordingly the firſt beſt throw upon the dice is…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *kʷetwóres ‘four’
fourth, kern, farthing, carillon, ferd, tetrad, quire, 19 more
through Latin quattuor ‘four’
squad, square, quarry, quadrant, quadruple, cadre, quadratic, quadra, cuatro, 27 more
through French quatre ‘four’
Today it means
noun A card, die, or domino with four spots or pips.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “quatre”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for French quatre. 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 *kʷetwóres / quatre