Where does “quatrain” come from?
Quatrain comes from French quatrain, derived from French quatre (four), which traces back through Old French quatre and Latin quattuor to Proto-Indo-European kauput-.
quatrain (English): A poem in four lines; A stanza of four lines
Definitions
- A poem in four lines; A stanza of four lines
Ancestry of “quatrain”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | French | quatrain | quatrain stanza of four lines |
| 2 | French | quatre | four |
| 3 | Old French | quatre | four |
| 4 | Latin | quattŭor | four; 4 |
| 5 | Portuguese | quarto | ordinal form of quatro; fourth; quarter; fourth;... |
| 6 | Old Portuguese | quarto | quarter |
| 7 | Latin | quārtus | fourth |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | kʷeturtos | — |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | kʷetwóres | four |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | kʷe- | and |