quartet
/kwɔː(ɹ)ˈtɛt/ noun
Forms quartets quartette
- noun A group of four people or things, particularly
- noun (music) A group of four musicians who perform classical music together. “The string quartet played some chamber music.”
- noun (music) A musical composition in four parts, each performed by a single voice or instrument. “He composed a string quartet.”
- noun (music) A group of four singers that sing together in four-part harmony. “The barbershop quartet performed the composition a cappella.”
Synonyms
foursome quadruplet quadruplicity quadrad quaternion quaternity tetrad tetraplet four 4 IV quatern quaternary Little Joe quartette quadruple
Etymology
From French quartette, from Italian quartetto. Doublet of cuarteto and quartetto.
Webster’s 1913
- noun (a) A composition in four parts, each performed by a single voice or instrument.
- noun A stanza of four lines.
Etymology [It. quartetto, dim. of quarto the fourth, a fourth part, fr. L. quartus the fourth. See Quart.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “quartet”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details