quadrifurcate
UK/ˌkwɒdɹɪˈfɜːkeɪt/
quadrifurcate adjective: branching fourfold; having four branches.
Adjective
quadrifurcate (not comparable)
- Branching fourfold; having four branches.
- Synonyms:
- quadrifurcated
Verb
quadrifurcate (third-person singular simple present quadrifurcates, present participle quadrifurcating, simple past and past participle quadrifurcated)
- Furcate (fork or divide) into four branches or channels.
- Once within the limits of the post-trochlear space, the tendon of this muscle behaves in a manner common to most birds — that is, it quadrifurcates, and each branch takes a course close up to the joints on their plantar aspects, […]1886, Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London, page 484
Synonyms of quadrifurcate
Forms of quadrifurcate
| third-person singular present | quadrifurcates |
|---|---|
| present participle | quadrifurcating |
| past participle | quadrifurcated |
| past | quadrifurcated |
Origin of quadrifurcate
First attested in 1849; formed as quadri- (“four”) + furcate (adjective); compare the post-Classical Latin quadrifurcātus (“four-pronged”).
First attested in 1886; formed as quadri- + furcate (verb).
Questions about quadrifurcate
- What does quadrifurcate mean?
- Quadrifurcate means branching fourfold; having four branches.
- What part of speech is quadrifurcate?
- Quadrifurcate can be an adjective or a verb.
- How do you pronounce quadrifurcate?
- Quadrifurcate is pronounced /ˌkwɒdɹɪˈfɜːkeɪt/ (UK).
Words near quadrifurcate in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: quadrifurcate (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Cite this entry: “quadrifurcate.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/quadrifurcate. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.