quatre (French)
Where does "quatre" come from?
The French word 'quatre' traces its roots back to the Proto-Indo-European *kʷetwóres, a term for the number four. It evolved through the Latin 'quattuor' and Old French 'quatre' to become the modern French number we use today. This ancient word is a linguistic relative of many other European terms for four, including the English 'four' and Spanish 'cuatro'.
Full etymology tree
- quatre (French), 'four'
- inherited quatre (Old French), 'four'
- inherited quattuor (Latin), 'four; 4'
- inherited *kʷettwōr (Proto-Italic), 'four'
- inherited *kʷetwṓr (Proto-Indo-European)
- derived *kʷetwóres (Proto-Indo-European), 'four'
- derived *kʷet- (Proto-Indo-European)
- derived *kʷetwóres (Proto-Indo-European), 'four'
- inherited *kʷetwṓr (Proto-Indo-European)
- influence *kʷtwr̥- (Proto-Indo-European)
- inherited *kʷettwōr (Proto-Italic), 'four'
- inherited quattuor (Latin), 'four; 4'
- inherited quatre (Old French), 'four'
Ancestors
- quatre (Old French)
- quattuor (Latin)
- *kʷetwóres (Proto-Indo-European)
Cognates and doublets
Descendants and derived words
- quatre (English)
- à un de ces quatre (French)
- dire ses quatre vérités (French)
- entre quatre yeux (French)
- manger comme quatre (French)
- patin à quatre roues (French)
- patin à roulettes quatre roues (French)
- quatre cents (French)
- quatre dragons du Pacifique (French)
- quatre volontés (French)
- quatrième (French)
- quatrième (French)
Updated July 2026
Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris