a plane figure having four angles and four sides, as a square.
2.
a square or quadrangular space or court that is surrounded by a building or buildings, as on a college campus.
3.
the building or buildings around such a space or court.
4.
the area shown on one of the standard topographic map sheets published by the U.S. Geological Survey: approximately 17 miles (27 km) north to south and from 11 to 15 miles (17 to 24 km) east to west.
Origin: 1400–50; late Middle English < Late Latin quadrangulum, noun use of neuter of Latin quadrangulus, quadriangulus four-cornered. See quadr-, angle
a calculus or concretion found in the stomach or intestines of certain animals, esp. ruminants, formerly reputed to be an effective remedy for poison.
a calculus or concretion found in the stomach or intestines of certain animals, esp. ruminants, formerly reputed to be an effective remedy for poison.
the offspring of a zebra and a donkey.
a children's mummer's parade, as on the Fourth of July, with prizes for the best costumes.
a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question.
c.1430, from O.Fr. quadrangle (13c.), from L.L. quadrangulum "four-sided figure," prop. neut. of L. adj. quadrangulus "having four quarters," from L. quattuor "four" (see four) + angulus "angle." The shortened form quad for "quadrangle of a college," is first recorded 1820 in Oxford slang.