four

four
four O.E. feower, from P.Gmc. *petwor- (Cf. O.S. fiwar, O.Fris. fiuwer, Frank. fitter-, Du. and Ger. vier, O.N. fjorir, Dan. fire, Swed. fyra, Goth. fidwor "four"), from PIE *kwetwer- "four" (Cf. Skt. catvarah, Avestan ДЌathwaro, Pers. ДЌatvar, Gk. tessares, L. quattuor, Oscan petora, O.C.S. ДЌetyre, Lith. keturi, O.Ir. cethir, Welsh petguar). The phonetic evolution of the Germanic forms has not been fully explained.
Slang four-eyes "person who wears glasses" first recorded 1874. Four-letter word first attested 1934; four-letter man, however, is recorded from 1923 (as a euphemism for a shit). A four-in-hand (1793) was a carriage with four horses driven by one person; in the sense of "loosely tied necktie" it is attested from 1892. To study The History of the Four Kings (1760, Cf. Fr. Livres des Quatre Rois) contains euphemistic slang phrase for "a pack of cards" from the time when card-playing was considered a wicked pastime for students. Slang 4-1-1 "essential information" (by 1993) is from the telephone number called to get customer information.

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  • four — [ fur ] n. m. • forn 1080; lat. furnus 1 ♦ Ouvrage de maçonnerie généralement voûté, de forme circulaire, muni d une ouverture par devant, et où l on fait cuire le pain, la pâtisserie, etc. Four de boulanger. Four à pizza. Bouche, gueule d un… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • four — 1. (four) s. m. 1°   Ouvrage de maçonnerie rond et voûté, où l on fait cuire le pain. Chauffer le four. •   Chaque jour il allait visiter les fours, goûter le pain, et s assurer de la régularité de toutes les distributions, SÉGUR Hist. de Nap. v …   Dictionnaire de la Langue Française d'Émile Littré

  • Four — Four, n. 1. The sum of four units; four units or objects. [1913 Webster] 2. A symbol representing four units, as 4 or iv. [1913 Webster] 3. Four things of the same kind, esp. four horses; as, a chariot and four. [1913 Webster] {All fours}. See… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Four — steht für: Le Four, zwei Leuchttürme vor der Französischen Atlantikküste Four (Isère), eine Gemeinde im französischen Departement Isère Four (Album), ein Album der amerikanischen Band Blues Traveler FOUR ist die Abkürzung für: Belnaps vierwertige …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Four — (f[=o]r), a. [OE. four, fower, feower, AS. fe[ o]wer; akin to OS. fiwar, D. & G. vier, OHG. fior, Icel. fj[=o]rir, Sw. fyra, Dan. fire, Goth. fidw[=o]r, Russ. chetuire, chetvero, W. pedwar, L. quatuor, Gr. te ttares, te ssares, pi syres, Skr.… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Four Fs — may stand for: * Four Fs (military): Find, Fix, Flank, Finish * Four Fs (evolution): Fight, Flee, Feed, Fornication * Friedrich Ludwig Jahn: Frisch, Fromm, Fröhlich, Frei * Four Fs (legal): Fruit, foliage, fungi, flowers …   Wikipedia

  • Four — Saltar a navegación, búsqueda Four País …   Wikipedia Español

  • four Cs — [ˌfɔː ˈsiːz ǁ ˌfɔːr ] noun MARKETING the four Cs used to talk about the activity of marketing a product or service in relation to: customers (what product or service will satisfy customers needs), customer (what customers have to pay),… …   Financial and business terms

  • four Os — [ˌfɔːr ˈəʊz ǁ ˈoʊz] noun MARKETING the four Os used to talk about the activity of marketing a product or service in relation to: object (the product or service being bought), Objectives (the reasons for buying a product or service), organization… …   Financial and business terms

  • four Ps — [ˌfɔː ˈpiːz ǁ ˌfɔːr ] noun MARKETING the four Ps used to talk about the activity of marketing a product or service in relation to: product (what to sell), price (the cost of providing a product or service), place (where it is sold), and promotion …   Financial and business terms

  • Four — (Passage du F.), Kanal zwischen dem Festlande von Frankreich (Departement Finisterre) u. der Insel Quessant; Leuchtthurm …   Pierer's Universal-Lexikon

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