tetralogy

[ te-tral-uh-jee, -trah-luh- ]

noun

, plural te·tral·o·gies.

1. a series of four related dramas, operas, novels, etc.
2. a group of four dramas, three tragedies and one satyr play, performed consecutively at the festival of Dionysus in ancient Athens.

tetralogy

/ tɛˈtrælədʒɪ /

noun

1. a series of four related works, as in drama or opera
2. (in ancient Greece) a group of four dramas, the first three tragic and the last satiric
3. pathol a group of four symptoms present in one disorder, esp Fallot's tetralogy

Word History and Origins

Origin of tetralogy¹

From the Greek word tetralogía, dating back to 1650–60. See tetra-, -logy

Word History and Origins

Origin of tetralogy¹

C17: from Greek tetralogia; see tetra- , -logy

Example Sentences

It only affected what I chose to write afterwards in terms of the other three books in the Lonesome Dove tetralogy.

From The Daily Beast

This series may be divided into two, each forming a tetralogy, or group of four plays.

From Project Gutenberg

For those who have sensitive feelings the fourth day of the Tetralogy has a depressing effect.

From Project Gutenberg

The drama itself comes second in the tetralogy of the Ring, being preceded by the Rheingold.

From Project Gutenberg

But this latter is more properly to be considered as the overture to a trilogy than as the first drama of a tetralogy.

From Project Gutenberg

"Richard III" is the fourth play of a tetralogy manifestly planned before the earlier members were completed.

From Project Gutenberg