quaternities

Noun

quaternity (countable and uncountable, plural quaternities)

1. A group or set of four; a foursome, a quartet.
   • [T]heir VVhole Scale, of all that is above the Body, vvas indeed not a Trinity, but a Quaternity, or Four Ranks and Degrees of Beings, one belovv another; the Firſt of Henades or Unities, the Second of Noes, Minds or Intellects, the Third of Souls, and the Laſt of Natures: theſe being as it vvere...1678, R[alph] Cudworth, chapter IV, in The True Intellectual System of the Universe: The First Part; wherein All the Reason and Philosophy of Atheism is Confuted; and Its Impossibility Demonstrated...

   Synonyms:

   foursome, quadruplet, quadruplicity, quadrad, quaternion, quartet, tetrad, tetraplet

   1. (historical) A group of four persons forming the Godhead, in contrast to the Trinity comprising three persons.
      • [H]e is bounden to beleue in yͤ trinitie. And yͤ felowe beleueth in a quaternitie. That is ꝙ [quod, i.e., quoth] I yͤ hole trinite ⁊ one moe.1528, Thomas More, “A Dialogue Concernynge Heresyes & Matters of Religion […]. Chapter XIX.”, in Wyllyam Rastell [i.e., William Rastell], editor, The Workes of Sir Thomas More Knyght, […], London...
2. (obsolete, rare) Synonym of quarter (“a fourth part”).
   • The firſt vvith divers crooks and turnings vvries, / Cutting the tovvn in foure quaternities; / But both joyn to reſiſt invading enemies.1633, P[hineas] F[letcher], “Cant[o] V”, in The Purple Island, or The Isle of Man: […], [Cambridge, Cambridgeshire]: […] [T]he printers to the Universities of Cambridge, →OCLC, stanza 12, page 49

   Synonyms:

   quarter

3. (uncountable) Synonym of fourness (“the property or state of being four in number”).
   • Some that in mystical quaternity / All Deity existed; and the first / Y'cleped Ineffable, and the last, Truth; / Father and Son, gods intermediate.1848, Philip James Bailey, “Scene—A Visit”, in Festus: A Poem, 3rd edition, London: William Pickering, →OCLC, page 208

   Synonyms:

   fourness