tetractys

T1E1T1R1A1C3T1Y4S1

noun

A triangular figure consisting of ten points arranged in four rows, representing the fourth triangular number and having mystical significance to the Pythagoreans.

OriginAncient Greek τετρακτύς →
Scrabble 14
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Meanings

noun
  1. A triangular figure consisting of ten points arranged in four rows, representing the fourth triangular number and having mystical significance to the Pythagoreans.

    ON the subway home, I noticed that the tattoo-esque logo for Solange includes a honeybee sitting in the middle of what looked like an early design by the 17th-century mystic Jakob Böhme: a flaming tetractys.

    2009 July 2, Cintra Wilson, “Riches at Rainbow’s End”, in New York Times

Origin

  1. Ancient Greekτετρακτύς
  2. Englishtetractys

Borrowed from Ancient Greek τετρακτύς (tetraktús).

More words from Ancient Greek

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

tetractys. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tetractys

MLA

“tetractys.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tetractys. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “tetractys,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tetractys.

Source: tetractys on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.