English
square
Square comes from Old French esquarre, from Vulgar Latin *exquadra, from Latin quadrō ‘to make square’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *kʷetwṓr ‘four’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kʷetwṓr1‘four’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*kʷettwōr1‘four’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEquattuor2‘four’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEquadrus3‘square’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEquadrō3‘to make square’
- Vulgar Latinc. 100–700 CE*exquadrō3reconstructed
- Vulgar Latinc. 100–700 CE*exquadra3reconstructed
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400esquarre3‘square’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500square3‘a square’
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1588–1593square3
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Latin quattuor
- 2 Wiktionary, Latin quadrus
- 3 Wiktionary, English square
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1588–1593, William Shakespeare, The Lamentable Tragedy of Titus Andronicus: “Are you such fools / To square for this?”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kʷetwṓrWiktionary, Latin quattuor‘four’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*kʷettwōrWiktionary, Latin quattuor‘four’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEquattuorWiktionary, Latin quadrus‘four’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEquadrusWiktionary, English square‘square’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEquadrōWiktionary, English square‘to make square’
- Vulgar Latinc. 100–700 CE*exquadrōWiktionary, English squarereconstructed
- Vulgar Latinc. 100–700 CE*exquadraWiktionary, English squarereconstructed
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400esquarreWiktionary, English square‘square’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500squareWiktionary, English square‘a square’
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1588–1593squareWiktionary, English square. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1588–1593, William Shakespeare, The Lamentable Tragedy of Titus Andronicus: “Are you such fools / To square for this?”
Word family
English words that share an ancestor with square, grouped by the ancestor they share, most familiar first.
through Proto-Indo-European *kʷetwṓr
- four ← fēower ← *feuwar ← *fedwōr
through Latin quattuor ‘four’
through Latin quadrus
- squadron ← squadrone ← squadra ← squadrare ← *exquadrāre
through Latin quadro ‘to make four-cornered, square, make square’
72 more relatives in the full family tree
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Today it means
noun A polygon with four straight sides of equal length and four right angles; an equilateral rectangle; a regular quadrilateral.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “square”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin quattuor, Latin quadrus. 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 / square