Quartet

How to spell quartet

7 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce quartet

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does quartet mean?

1. nounA group of four musicians, or a musical composition written for four performers.
2. nounAny set or group of four people or things.

Quartet in a sentence

• The string quartet tuned their instruments before the recital.

• A quartet of senior managers reviewed the annual budget.

• The composer wrote a quartet for two violins, a viola, and a cello.

• The recipe calls for a quartet of fresh herbs.

Where does quartet come from?

Language of origin: Italian

This word came into English in the late 1700s from the Italian quartetto, a musical term coined from quarto, meaning 'fourth', which itself descends from the Latin quartus, 'fourth', built on quattuor, the Latin word for 'four'. Italian was the dominant language of European music at the time, so its terminology for groups of performers spread across the continent, giving English partners such as 'duet', 'trio', 'quintet', and 'sextet'. The original sense was strictly musical: a piece written for four voices or instruments, or the four players themselves. From there the meaning broadened to describe any set of four people or things. The spelling trap lies in the opening 'qua' borrowed from Latin and the single 't' in the middle before the doubled-sounding ending; remembering the link to 'quart' and the number four helps keep the letters in order.

How the word is built

• quart- (four, from Latin quartus)
• -et (diminutive/collective noun suffix)