Meanings
adjectivequadrilingual (not comparable)
- not comparableInvolving four languages.
Part of the rationale for this quadrilingual language policy is the desire to preserve ‘Asian values’, viewed as inherent in Asian languages, in the face of ‘Western values’ associated with globalisation and the use of English.
2019, Li Huang, James Lambert, “Another Arrow for the Quiver: A New Methodology for Multilingual Researchers”, in Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, →DOI, page 3 - not comparableOf a text, written in four languages.
- not comparableOf a person, able to speak four languages.
nounquadrilingual (plural quadrilinguals)
plural quadrilinguals
- A person who understands four languages.
- An inscription that includes the same text in four languages.
Synonyms & antonyms
Similar
Also see
Origin
- Proto-Indo-European*kʷetwóres
- Proto-Indo-European*kʷetwr̥-
- Proto-Italic*kʷetru-
- Latinquadri-
- Englishquadri-
- Proto-Indo-European*dn̥ǵʰwéh₂s
- Proto-Italic*dn̥ɣwā
- Latindingua
- Latinlingua
- Proto-Indo-European*h₂el-
- Proto-Indo-European*h₂élisder.?
- Latinlinguāli
- Englishlingual
- Englishquadrilingual
Translations
Danish firsproget, firsproget
- firsprogetwritten in four languages
- firsprogetable to speak four languages
Dutch viertalig
- viertaligwritten in four languages
Finnish nelikielinen, nelikielinen
- nelikielinenwritten in four languages
- nelikielinenable to speak four languages
French quadrilingue, tétralingue
- quadrilingueable to speak four languages
- tétralingueable to speak four languages
German viersprachig, viersprachig
- viersprachigwritten in four languages
- viersprachigable to speak four languages
Greek τετράγλωσσος
- τετράγλωσσος (tetráglossos)written in four languages
Polish czterojęzyczny, czterojęzyczny
- czterojęzycznywritten in four languages
- czterojęzycznyable to speak four languages
Russian четырехъязы́чный, четырехъязы́чный
- четырехъязы́чный (četyrexʺjazýčnyj)written in four languages
- четырехъязы́чный (četyrexʺjazýčnyj)able to speak four languages
Spanish cuatrilingüe, tetralingüe
- cuatrilingüewritten in four languages
- tetralingüewritten in four languages
- cuatrilingüeable to speak four languages
- tetralingüeable to speak four languages
Swedish fyrspråkig, fyrspråkig
- fyrspråkigwritten in four languages
- fyrspråkigable to speak four languages
Ukrainian чотирьохмо́вний, чотиримо́вний
- чотирьохмо́вний (čotyrʹoxmóvnyj)written in four languages
- чотиримо́вний (čotyrymóvnyj)written in four languages
- чотирьохмо́вний (čotyrʹoxmóvnyj)able to speak four languages
- чотиримо́вний (čotyrymóvnyj)able to speak four languages
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with quadrilingual
bilingualmultilinguallingualsublingualmonolingualtrilingualunilingualalveololingualambilingualanterolingualapicolingualaudiolingualaxiolingualbrevilingualbuccolingualcervicolingualcolingualcrosslingualdecalingualdentilingualdistolingualdorsolingualequilingualexolingual
All rhymes →Cite this entry
APA
quadrilingual. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/quadrilingual
MLA
“quadrilingual.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/quadrilingual. Accessed November 3, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “quadrilingual,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/quadrilingual.
Source: quadrilingual on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.