fourfold meaning: definition, etymology and quotations

fourfold

adj

UK /ˈfɔːfəʊld/ · US /ˈfɔɹ.foʊld/

Etymology From Middle English fourfold, fourefold, from Old English fēowerfeald. Equivalent to four + -fold. Cognate with Dutch viervoud, Gothic 𐍆𐌹𐌳𐌿𐍂𐍆𐌰𐌻𐌸𐍃 (fidurfalþs).

1

Four times as great; quadruple.

2

Comprised of four individual members.

Most pupils have a fourfold object in studying a language; they wish to be able to read and write, to speak and to understand it.1895, [Charles Hardy], The Aural System […], page 5:

Synonyms: quadruple, quadruplicate
Derived terms: fourfoldness

fourfold

adv

Etymology From Middle English fourfold, fourefold, from Old English fēowerfeald. Equivalent to four + -fold. Cognate with Dutch viervoud, Gothic 𐍆𐌹𐌳𐌿𐍂𐍆𐌰𐌻𐌸𐍃 (fidurfalþs).

1

By a factor of four.

And he shall restore the Lambe fourefold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pittie.1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, 2 Samuel 12:6:

Synonyms: quadruply

fourfold

verb

Etymology From Middle English fourfold, fourefold, from Old English fēowerfeald. Equivalent to four + -fold. Cognate with Dutch viervoud, Gothic 𐍆𐌹𐌳𐌿𐍂𐍆𐌰𐌻𐌸𐍃 (fidurfalþs).

1

To increase to four times as much; to multiply by four.

Synonyms: quadruple, quadruplicate

fourfold

noun

Etymology From Middle English fourfold, fourefold, from Old English fēowerfeald. Equivalent to four + -fold. Cognate with Dutch viervoud, Gothic 𐍆𐌹𐌳𐌿𐍂𐍆𐌰𐌻𐌸𐍃 (fidurfalþs).

1

Mathematics, Sciences An algebraic variety of degree 4.

Our main application is to the classification of Poisson brackets on Fano fourfolds.2015, Brent Pym, “Elliptic singularities on log symplectic manifolds and Feigin--Odesskii Poisson brackets”, in arXiv: