different between quadrefoil vs quatrefoil

English

Noun

quadrefoil (plural quadrefoils)

1. Alternative spelling of quatrefoil
   • 2008, Walter Hildebrandt, Views from Fort Battleford, page 16:

     Note the subtle details associated with Gothic Revival architectural styles which include trefoil and quadrefoil designs.

English

Alternative forms

• quadrefoil
• quarterfoil, quaterfoil (archaic)

Etymology

From Old French quatrefoil, from quatre (“four”) + foil (“leaf”).

Noun

quatrefoil (plural quatrefoils)

1. (architecture) A symmetrical shape that forms the overall outline of four partially-overlapping circles of the same diameter.
2. (heraldry) A stylized flower or leaf with four lobes.

Quotations

• 1988, Alan Hollinghurst, The Swimming Pool Library, Penguin Books, paperback edition, page 142

  It was a narrow, gravelled island we had to lie on, guarded by glazed brick chimneys and, running along the sides, a prickly little gothic fence of iron finials and terracotta quatrefoils.

Coordinate terms

• trefoil
• cinquefoil
• sexfoil
• octofoil
• multifoil
• polyfoil

Related terms

• quatrefoliated

Translations

Anagrams

• quaterfoil