quadra

Quadra- is a combining form used like a prefix meaning “four.” It is used in some technical and everyday terms.

Quadra- comes from the Latin quattuor, meaning “four.” The Greek equivalent is tetra-, which also appears as tetr-, as in tetrahedron. Want to know more? Check out our Words That Use entries for tetr- and tetra-.

What are variants of quadra-?

Quadra- is a rare variant of quadri-, as in quadripole.

When combined with words or word elements that begin with a vowel, quadra- becomes quadr-, as in quadric.

Before some labial consonants (such as –p– or –f-), quadra- becomes quadru-, as in quadruplex, which uses the Latin equivalent of the form.

Want to learn more? Check out our Words That Use entries for quadr-, quadri-, and quadru-.

One example of a technical term that features the combining form quadra- is quadraphony, “high-fidelity sound reproduction involving signals transmitted through four different channels.”

The first portion of the word, quadra-, means “four,” while -phony means “indicating a specified type of sound,” from Greek -phōnia. Quadraphony literally translates to “four sounds.”

What are some words that use the combining form quadra- (or its Latin equivalent)?

• quadragenarian
• quadragene
• quadragesima
• quadragesimal
• quadraphonic
• quadrasonic

What are some other forms that quadra- may be commonly confused with?

• quasi-
• quinque-

Stereophonic is a system of sound recording or reproduction that uses two channels. With the meaning of quadra- in mind, how many channels does quadraphonic recording use?