Talk:quattuor

what are the 2 spellings?
Please comment on the 2 spellings present in Wiktionary: quattor and quattuor.--Imz 15:04, 7 March 2009 (UTC)
 * The spelling quattor: is a rare alternative spelling in Latin. --EncycloPetey 19:35, 7 March 2009 (UTC)

Disyllabic or trisyllabic
I thought quattuor was disyllabic for some reason. Here are lines from the Aeneid in which it occurs, from a complete search of Gutenberg text file.
 * Quattuor | hic, pri|mum omen, e|quos in | gramine | vidi
 * quattuor | ex om|ni de|lectae | classe ca|rinae.
 * uec tan|tis mora | prodigi|is. En | quattuor | arae
 * quattuor | amis|sis, ser|vat(ae) a | peste ca|rinae.
 * quattuor | hic pri|mum nig|rantis | terga iu|vencos
 * Quattuor | hic in|vectus e|quis et | lampada | quassans
 * quattuor | in medi|o diri|mit plaga | solis i|niqui.
 * quattuor | a stabu|lis prae|stanti | corpore | tauros
 * quattuor | hic iuve|nes, toti|dem, quos | educat | Ufens,

It looks like I was wrong, since it always occurs before a vowel (or before h, which metrically doesn't count as a consonant), and hence can only be scanned heavy–light if the u is a consonant or heavy–light–light if the u is a vowel. Since quattuor always counts as a single foot, it has to be heavy–light–light, a dactyl, not heavy–light, a trochee, in every case. Not sure how I got the idea it was disyllabic... Eru·tuon 00:51, 2 March 2015 (UTC)