Quadruplets

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A set of four offspring born to the same mother during one pregnancy
2. Four children delivered at the same time, typically resulting from assisted reproductive technology
3. Referring to any group or collection of four individuals or items, often with a specific relationship

Etymology: "Quadruplets" is the plural of "quadruplet," which is built from "quadruple" with the suffix "-et." The base "quadruple" comes from Latin "quadruplus," meaning fourfold, made from "quattuor" (four) and the element "-plus," related to "plicare" (to fold) in the sense of multiplying by folding. The "-et" ending, borrowed from French, marks a small or individual unit, as in "piglet" or "booklet," so a quadruplet is one of a group of four. The plural form simply counts the offspring: "quadruplets" refers to the four children from a single pregnancy, and the singular "quadruplet" names one of them. Because the suffix was used to make words for individual members, the same pattern produces "triplet" and "twin" in parallel uses, though "twin" has a separate Germanic origin.