quad

== English == === Etymology === Shortened, via clipping or abbreviation, from various English terms. Ultimately related to Latin quattuor (“4”); compare quadri-, quadruple. The typography senses are from the abbreviation quad. for obsolete quadrat; the keyboard command comes from the verb sense. === Pronunciation === (General American) IPA(key): /kwɑd/ (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /kwɒd/ Rhymes: -ɒd === Noun === quad (plural quads) (typography, obsolete) Clipping of quadrat. [18th to 19th century] (letterpress typography) A blank metal block used to fill short lines of type. [from 1780s] Synonyms: (commonly) em quad, em space, (obsolete) quadrat (printing slang) A joke used to fill long days of setting type. (typography, phototypesetting and digital typesetting) A keyboard command which aligns text with the left or right margin, or centred between them. In combination, as quad left, quad right, or quad centre. (informal) A quadrangle (quadrangular courtyard). [from 1780s] (colloquial, dated) A horse, from colloquial or humorous quadruped specifically for horse. [from 1850s] Something that is quadruple (four times) the usual amount, number, etc. A poster advertising a cinematic film release, measuring forty by thirty inches, four times the area of crown paper. [c. 1910] (skating) A quadruple, a jump with four revolutions in the air. A serving of four shots of espresso; (attributive) containing four shots of espresso. A skate with four wheels. Clipping of quadruplet (“a set of four; one of a set of four”). [from 1890s] (electronics, telecommunications) A group of four insulated wires twisted together to form two circuits of two wires each. [from 1920s] (radio) A quad antenna, a directional radio antenna consisting of multiple loop antennas. [from 1930s] (informal) A quadruplet, one of four babies born during the same birth. (chess) A kind of round-robin tournament between four players, where each participant plays every other participant once. (Mormonism) The Bible, Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, and Pearl of Great Price bound in a single volume. (poker slang, attributive) Of or relating to quads (four of a kind). (informal) The quadriceps muscle. [from 1950s] (informal) Quadruplex videotape. [from 1960s] (informal) A quadriplegic person. [from 1970s] A unit of energy equivalent to a quadrillion BTU (1015 BTU). [from 1970s] A small off-road four-wheeled powered vehicle, usually used for recreation or farm work. [from 1980s] Synonyms: quad bike, four-wheeler Hypernyms: ATV, all-terrain vehicle < vehicle Coordinate terms: three-wheeler; dirtbike; UTV, SxS, side-by-side (informal, computer graphics) A quadrilateral. [from 1980s] (informal) A quadcopter. [from 2000s] (informal) A quadrupel beer. ==== Derived terms ==== ==== Translations ==== === Adjective === quad (not comparable) Quadruple, four times the usual size or quantity. [from 1880s] (paper) Quadrille, marked with squares. ==== Derived terms ==== quad paper === Verb === quad (third-person singular simple present quads, present participle quadding, simple past and past participle quadded) (typography, letterpress typography, transitive, intransitive) To fill spaces in a line of type with quads. Also quad out. (typography, phototypesetting and digital typesetting, transitive, intransitive) To align text with the left or right margin, or centre it. (transitive) To twist four individually insulated conductors together as two pairs of twisted wires that are then twisted together. (intransitive) To ride a quad bike. ==== Derived terms ==== quad out === See also === quadr-, quadri- quadru- quin == Basque == === Etymology === From English quad. === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /kwad/ [kwað̞] Rhymes: -ad === Noun === quad inan quad bike ==== Declension ==== === Further reading === “quad”, in Euskaltzaindiaren Hiztegia [Dictionary of the Basque Academy] (in Basque), Euskaltzaindia [Royal Academy of the Basque Language] == Catalan == === Pronunciation === IPA(key): (Northern, Balearic, Central, Valencia, Northwestern) [ˈkwat] === Noun === quad m (plural quads) clipping of quadricicle == Dutch == === Etymology === From English quad. === Pronunciation === === Noun === quad m (plural quads, diminutive quadje n) quad, quad bike == Hungarian == === Pronunciation === IPA(key): [ˈkvɒd] === Noun === quad (plural quadok) quad bike Synonym: négykerekű motorkerékpár ==== Declension ==== == Italian == === Pronunciation === === Noun === quad m (invariable) quad bike == Middle Scots == === Alternative forms === quaid, queid, quyed === Etymology === Inherited from Middle English qued, from Old English cwēad and Middle Dutch quaet === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /kweːd/, /kwiːd/ (from Old English cwēad) IPA(key): /kwɛːd/ (from Middle Dutch quaet) === Adjective === quad (comparative quader) evil, wicked, bad [from 13th century] ==== Usage notes ==== Only the comparative is attested. === Further reading === “quad”, in The Dictionary of the Scots Language, Edinburgh: Scottish Language Dictionaries, 2004–present, →OCLC, reproduced from William A[lexander] Craigie, A[dam] J[ack] Aitken [et al.], editors, A Dictionary of the Older Scottish Tongue: […], Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, 1931–2002, →OCLC. == Old High German == === Verb === quad first/third-person singular past indicative of quedan == Polish == === Etymology === Unadapted borrowing from English quad. === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /ˈkwat/ Rhymes: -at Syllabification: quad Homophone: kład === Noun === quad m inan quad bike Synonyms: czterokołowiec, wszędołaz, kład ==== Declension ==== === Further reading === “quad”, in Wielki słownik języka polskiego‎[6] (in Polish), Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN “quad”, in Polish dictionaries at PWN‎[7] (in Polish) == Spanish == === Etymology === Borrowed from English quad, clipping of quadricycle. === Noun === quad m (plural quads) all-terrain vehicle === Further reading === “quad”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025