Definitions

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun The state of being four; the condition of making up the number four.
  • noun A group of four.
  • noun [capitalized] Especially, the union of four persons in one godhead. Compare trinity, 3.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun obsolete The number four.
  • noun The union of four in one, as of four persons; -- analogous to the theological term trinity.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun countable A group or set of four.
  • noun uncountable The state of being four; fourness.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun the cardinal number that is the sum of three and one

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Latin quaternitas

Support

Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word quaternity.

Examples

  • And to draw the last of my title quaternity into the discussion, Edward Tufte proposes as a “grand truth about human behvior that, as Van Wyck Brooks said, “It is a principle that shines impartially on the just and the unjust that once you have a point of view all history will back you up.”

    AKMA’s Random Thoughts 2007

  • Mayan metaphysics mirrored what Jung has called the element of “fourness,” or quaternity, that seems to be so prominent an aspect of the life of the unconscious collective landscape across various cultures (op.cit. at 62).

    The Hero Cycle in Maya Myth & Culture 2007

  • Mayan metaphysics mirrored what Jung has called the element of “fourness,” or quaternity, that seems to be so prominent an aspect of the life of the unconscious collective landscape across various cultures (op.cit. at 62).

    The Hero Myth in Maya Art & Culture 2007

  • Christenson writes that quaternity is still evident in Maya ritual today: “The placement of offerings at the four corners and center of a house is a common Maya practice, the sacrificial animals serving as the spirit co-essence of the house and of those who live and work within it.”

    The Hero Cycle in Maya Myth & Culture 2007

  • Then the Roman has implanted his dark complexion in the trinity or quaternity of bloods.

    IV. English Traits. Race 1909

  • Then the Roman has implanted his dark complexion in the trinity or quaternity of bloods.

    English Traits (1856) 1856

  • With our love to the entire quaternity of you, Yours ever,

    Autobiography and Letters of Orville Dewey, D.D. Edited by his Daughter Orville Dewey 1838

  • Understanding of what is, and what to do, requires a balance of this quaternity.

    unknown title 2009

  • Understanding of what is, and what to do, requires a balance of this quaternity.

    unknown title 2009

  • The first section presents a model for the human identity based on Jung's quaternity, and argues that our modern psychological and social problems stem largely from imbalance between the four elements of our identity.

    How to Save the World 2009

Comments

Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.