Quattro

Part of speech: noun, adjective

Definitions

1. A term denoting the number four in Italian and other contexts, often used in automotive nomenclature for all-wheel drive systems
2. A word used in various contexts to signify the quantity of four, commonly encountered in Italian culture, especially in sports or music
3. An expression referring to the numeral four, particularly in relation to vehicles and Italian phrases indicating groupings or sequences of four

Etymology: "Quattro" is Italian for "four," descended from Latin "quattuor," which is also the source of English "four" through the Germanic line, making it a cousin of that everyday word rather than a borrowing from it. Its Latin ancestor belongs to the same Indo-European family that gave English "four," so the two words share a root despite arriving in their languages by separate routes. In English, the word turns up mostly in a few specific places. Audi's "quattro" badge, introduced in 1980 for its all-wheel-drive system, is probably the best-known case, and the name was chosen to signal four driven wheels. In music, a "quattro" is a four-string guitar-like instrument in Puerto Rican and Latin American traditions, and in Italian music terms, "quattro" appears in phrases tied to four-part settings or four beats.

Synonyms: four, quartet, quad, tetrad, quadrangle