patru (Romanian)
Where does "patru" come from?
The Romanian word 'patru' shares a deep ancient lineage with the English word 'four,' both tracing back to the Proto-Indo-European term *kʷetwóres. It evolved through the Proto-Italic *kʷettwōr before becoming the Latin 'quattuor,' eventually simplifying over time into its modern Romanian form. This enduring word reflects how the basic concept of the number four has remained consistent across thousands of years of linguistic history.
Full etymology tree
- patru (Romanian), 'four'
- inherited quattuor (Latin), 'four; 4'
- inherited *kʷettwōr (Proto-Italic), 'four'
- derived *kʷetwṓr (Proto-Indo-European)
- derived *kʷetwóres (Proto-Indo-European), 'four'
- derived *kʷet- (Proto-Indo-European)
- derived *kʷetu- (Proto-Indo-European)
- derived *kʷetwóres (Proto-Indo-European), 'four'
- derived *kʷetwṓr (Proto-Indo-European)
- influence *kʷtwr̥- (Proto-Indo-European)
- inherited *kʷettwōr (Proto-Italic), 'four'
- inherited quattuor (Latin), 'four; 4'
Ancestors
- quattuor (Latin)
- *kʷettwōr (Proto-Italic)
- *kʷetwóres (Proto-Indo-European)
Descendants and derived words
- împătri (Romanian)
- pătrar (Romanian)
- pătrime (Romanian)
- patruzeci (Romanian)
Updated July 2026
Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris