cuatro (Spanish)

Where does "cuatro" come from?

The Spanish word "cuatro" traces its origins back to the Proto-Indo-European *kʷetwóres, indicating a shared ancestry for the concept of "four" across many languages. It evolved through Proto-Italic and then into the Latin "quattŭor," before settling into "quatro" in Old Spanish. Through this long linguistic journey, the word has maintained its core meaning, serving as a direct cognate to the English "four."

Full etymology tree

• cuatro (Spanish), 'four'
  • inherited quatro (Old Spanish), 'four'
    • inherited quattuor (Latin), 'four; 4'
      • inherited *kʷettwōr (Proto-Italic), 'four'
        • inherited *kʷetwṓr (Proto-Indo-European)
          • derived *kʷet- (Proto-Indo-European)
          • derived *kʷetu- (Proto-Indo-European)
        • influence *kʷtwr̥- (Proto-Indo-European)

Ancestors

• quatro (Old Spanish)
• quattuor (Latin)
• *kʷettwōr (Proto-Italic)
• *kʷetwóres (Proto-Indo-European)

Cognates and doublets

• τέσσαρες (Ancient Greek)
• four (English)
• quatre (French)
• feower (Old English)

Updated July 2026

More words starting with C

Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris