Square
/skwɛr/noun
A shape with four equal sides and four right angles; also, something fair, direct, or even.
Did you know?The English word *square* ultimately comes from Latin *quadratus*, meaning “made square,” and its deeper root is the same family that gave us *four* and *quadrant*—the language of measured, sacred order.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*kʷetwóres
“four”
Latin
Latin
quadrātus
“made square; squared off”
Late Latin
Latin
exquadrare
“to make square”
Old French
Old French
esquarre
“square, carpenter's square”
Middle English
English
squar
“a square tool or shape”
Modern English
English
square
“a shape with four equal sides and four right angles; also fair, direct, or even”
Explore more surprising origins