quadrant
UK /ˈkwɒd.ɹənt/ · US /ˈkwɑ.dɹənt/ noun
Forms quadrants quadraunt
- noun One of the four sections made by dividing an area with two perpendicular lines.
- noun (mathematics) One of the four regions of the Cartesian plane bounded by the x-axis and y-axis.
- noun (geometry) One fourth of a circle or disc; a sector with an angle of 90°.
- noun (nautical) A measuring device with a graduated arc of 90° used in locating an altitude.
- noun (college basketball) One of the four categories of team wins and losses, as categorized by strength of schedule.
- noun (obsolete) A square or quadrangle.
Synonyms
Etymology
Inherited from Middle English quadrant, from Old French cadran, quadrant and its etymon Latin quadrāns, -antis (“fourth part of something, quarter”). Doublet of quadrans.
Inherited from Middle English quadrant, quadrante, from Latin quadrātum; form influenced by Etymology 1. Doublet of quadrat and quadrate.
Webster’s 1913
- noun The fourth part; the quarter. [Obs.] Sir T. Browne.
- noun The quarter of a circle, or of the circumference of a circle, an arc of 90º, or one subtending a right angle at the center.
Etymology [L. quadrans, -antis, a fourth part, a fourth of a whole, fr. quattuor four: cf. F. quadrant, cadran. See Four, and cf. Cadrans.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “quadrant”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details