Quadruples

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To expand a measurement or quantity to four times what it was originally To enhance an amount, size, or value by fourfold To raise a figure to four times greater than its initial state
2. To cause a number or amount to become four times larger than before
3. To multiply a quantity so that it is four times its previous value

Etymology: "Quadruples" is the third-person singular form of the verb "quadruple," meaning to make something four times as large or as many. The verb comes from the adjective "quadruple," which entered Middle English from Latin "quadruplus," itself built from "quadri-" (four) and the suffix "-ple," the same ending found in "double" and "triple." The "-ple" element is a Latin-derived multiplier suffix, so the word literally describes a quantity folded fourfold. The sense of the verb grew naturally out of the adjective. Once something could be described as quadruple, meaning four times over, it was a short step to using the word for the act of making a thing four times greater. The verb is therefore a simple extension of the older descriptive use rather than a separate coinage.

Synonyms: multiplies by four, fourfold