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quadriga

American  
[kwo-dree-guh, -drahy-] / kwɒˈdri gə, -ˈdraɪ- /

noun

Classical Antiquity.
quadrigae plural
  1. a two-wheeled chariot drawn by four horses harnessed abreast.


quadriga British  
/ kwɒˈdriːɡə /

noun

  1. (in the classical world) a two-wheeled chariot drawn by four horses abreast

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

Etymology

Origin of quadriga

1720–30; < Latin quadrīga, earlier plural quadrīgae, contraction of quadrijugae a team of four; cf. quadri-, yoke 1

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

On the apex of the roof was a quadriga, a blatant symbol of martial triumph depicting four horses being driven by Jupiter himself.

From The Guardian Mar. 15, 2016

In classical times, the quadriga was a four-horse chariot used for racing -- or even driven by the goddess Nike.

From The Guardian Jul. 27, 2015

And yet, on closer examination - rather than simply as a stylisation, or as the backdrop for the joyful Berlin-Wall-busting crowds of 1989 - the quadriga is almost as troubling as these other symbols.

From BBC May 18, 2012

The quadriga - as such a statue is known, after the original triumphal classical grouping from which all modern ones derive - is everywhere in Berlin.

From BBC May 18, 2012

At last, when he had reached the great fountain in the middle of two crossing streets, he stepped from the quadriga, and, nodding to his attendants, mingled with the throng.

From Quo Vadis: a narrative of the time of Nero by Curtin, Jeremiah

The white horse charging over the Carthaginian dead presages all the great white quadrigae that would soon soar through the heavens.

From Time Magazine Archive

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