quattuor (Latin)

Where does "quattuor" come from?

The Latin word "quattuor," meaning four, traces back to the Proto-Indo-European root "*kʷetwṓr." It evolved through Proto-Italic "*kʷettwōr" into Latin, sharing a common ancestral origin with distant relatives like Ancient Greek "téssares" and the English "four."

Full etymology tree

• quattuor (Latin), 'four; 4'
  • inherited *kʷettwōr (Proto-Italic), 'four'
    • inherited *kʷetwṓr (Proto-Indo-European)
      • derived *kʷetwóres (Proto-Indo-European), 'four'
  • influence *kʷtwr̥- (Proto-Indo-European)

Ancestors

• *kʷettwōr (Proto-Italic)

Cognates and doublets

• τέσσαρες (Ancient Greek)
• four (English)
• չորք (Old Armenian)
• feower (Old English)
• चतुर् (Sanskrit)

Descendants and derived words

• quadra (Latin)
• quadrangulum (Latin)
• quadrangulus (Latin)
• quadrantal (Latin)
• quadriangulum (Latin)
• quadriangulus (Latin)
• quadribaccium (Latin)
• quadriceps (Latin)
• quadricolor (Latin)
• quadriduum (Latin)
• quadriennis (Latin)
• quadriennium (Latin)

Updated July 2026

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