four

English Online Dictionary. What means four‎? What does four mean?

Translingual

Alternative forms

• Four, FOUR

Etymology

Borrowed from English four.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈfoa], like lower (non-rhotic)

Noun

four

1. (international standards) NATO & ICAO radiotelephony clear code (spelling-alphabet name) for the digit 4.

   Synonym: kartefour (ITU/IMO)

References

English

Etymology

From Middle English four, from Old English fēower, from Proto-West Germanic *feuwar, from Proto-Germanic *fedwōr, from previous pre-Grimm *petwṓr, from Proto-Indo-European *kʷetwṓr, the neuter form of *kʷetwóres. Doublet of cuatro and quatre.

Cognates include Scots fower, Saterland Frisian fjauer, West Frisian fjouwer, Dutch vier, German Low German veer, German vier, Norwegian Bokmål and Danish fire, Swedish fyra, Gothic 𐍆𐌹𐌳𐍅𐍉𐍂 (fidwōr) and, more distantly, Latin quattuor (whence Spanish cuatro, French quatre), Ancient Greek τέσσαρες (téssares), Irish ceathair, Armenian չորս (čʻors), Lithuanian keturi, Albanian katër, Sanskrit चतुर् (catur).

Pronunciation

• (UK)
  • (Received Pronunciation) enPR: fô, IPA^(key): /fɔː/
  • (Scotland) IPA^(key): /fo(ː)r/
• (US)
  • (General American) enPR: fôr, IPA^(key): /foɹ/
  • (rhotic, without the horse–hoarse merger) enPR: fōr, IPA^(key): /fo(ː)ɹ/
  • (non-rhotic, without the horse–hoarse merger) IPA^(key): /foə/
• (General Australian, New Zealand) IPA^(key): /foː/
• (non-rhotic, dough–door merger, African-American Vernacular) IPA^(key): /foʊ/
• Rhymes: -ɔː(ɹ)
• (India)
  • (Academic) enPR: fō, IPA^(key): /fo(ː)/
  • (Colloquial) enPR: fōr, IPA^(key): /fo(ː)ɾ/
• Homophones: fore, foure
• Homophone: for (horse–hoarse merger)
• Homophone: faugh (non-rhotic, horse–hoarse merger)
• Homophones: foe, faux (non-rhotic, dough–door merger)
• Homophones: foe, faux, fore (Indian Academic)
• Homophone: fore (Indian Colloquial)

Numeral

four

1. A numerical value equal to 4; the number after three and before five; two plus two. This many dots (••••)
2. Describing a set or group with four elements.

Derived terms

Related terms

• fourth
• farthing

Descendants

Translations

See also

• Table of cardinal numbers 0 to 9 in various languages
• Last: three, 3
• Next: five, 5

Noun

four (countable and uncountable, plural fours)

1. (countable) The digit or figure 4; an occurrence thereof.
2. (countable) Anything measuring four units, as length.

3. Four o'clock.
4. A person who is four years old.

5. (cricket, countable) An event in which the batsmen run four times between the wickets or, more often, a batsman hits a ball which bounces on the ground before passing over a boundary, resulting in an award of 4 runs for the batting team. If the ball does not bounce before passing over the boundary, a six is awarded instead.
6. (basketball, countable) A power forward.
7. (rowing) Four-man sweep racing shell, with or without a coxswain.
   1. The shell itself.

   2. The crew rowing in a four boat.

   3. (colloquial) A regatta event for four boats.

8. (obsolete) A four-pennyworth of spirits.

Derived terms

• (numeral): rouf (back slang)

Translations

See also

English terms starting with “four”

Anagrams

• Rufo, furo, rouf, rufo-, uORF

French

Etymology

Inherited from Middle French four, from Old French four, forz, forn, from Latin furnus, from Proto-Italic *fornos, from Proto-Indo-European *gʷʰr̥-nós, from *gʷʰer- (“warm, hot”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /fuʁ/
• Rhymes: -uʁ

Noun

four m (plural fours)

1. oven
2. stove
3. flop

Derived terms

• au four
• avoir une brioche au four
• enfourner
• être au four et au moulin
• faire un four
• four à micro-ondes
• gant de four
• noir comme dans un four
• petit four

Related terms

• fournaise
• fourneau

Descendants

• Louisiana Creole: fou

Further reading

• “four”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Istriot

Etymology

From Latin foris, foras. Compare Italian fuori, Friulian fûr, Dalmatian fure, Venetan fora.

Adverb

four

1. out, outside

Preposition

four

1. out, outside

Middle English

Alternative forms

• fore, feour, fower, fowwre, foure, fowr, vour

Etymology

From Old English feōwer.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /fɔu̯r/, /fuːr/
• (Early Middle English) IPA^(key): /ˈføːwər/

Numeral

four

1. four

Related terms

• ferthe
• fourtene
• fourty

Descendants

• English: four
• Geordie English: fower
• Scots: fower
• Yola: vour, voure, vowre

References

Norman

Alternative forms

• fou (Jersey)

Etymology

From Old French forn, from Latin furnus.

Noun

four m (plural fours)

1. (Guernsey) oven

Walloon

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /fuːʀ/

Noun

four m (plural fours)

1. hay