fourfoldadj.adv.n.
/ˈfɔːfəʊld/, U.S. /ˈfɔrˌfoʊld/ A. adj.
1. Consisting of four things; made up of four parts.
ΚΠ
c1275 Laȝamon Brut 1356 To þan lond hii verden þare hii leof folk funden fouruald ferde.
a1300 Cursor Mundi 28974 Chastiyng o flexs foure fald to tak, In praier, fasting, wand, and wak.
1660 R. Boyle New Exper. Physico-mechanicall ix. 70 A four-fold Advantage.
1823 H. J. Brooke Familiar Introd. Crystallogr. 58 A four-fold cleavage, or one in four directions, will produce a tetrahedron.
1838 C. Thirlwall Hist. Greece (new ed.) II. xi. 4 The four~fold distribution of the country is the foundation of another tradition.
1877 A. B. Edwards Thousand Miles up Nile xii. 341 The four~fold surroundings of Philæ—the cataract, the river, the desert, the environing mountains.
2. Four times as great or numerous: quadruple.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > number > specific numbers > four > [adjective] > fourfold
fourfoldc1000
quatreblea1398
quadruplate?a1505
four-double1527
quadruple1557
quadruplex1606
quadrupled1607
quadruplicate1654
quadrifariousa1745
quaternate1753
quadriplicate1890
tetraplous1899
c1000 West Saxon Gospels: Luke (Corpus Cambr.) xix. 8 Gif ic ænigne bereafode ic hit be feowerfealdum agyfe.
1557 R. Record Whetstone of Witte sig. Bii Quadrupla. 4 to 1: 8 to 2..Fowerfolde.
a1650 T. May Old Couple iv. i 2nd Neigh. All happiness betide you. 3rd Neigh. And a reward four-fold in th' other world.
B. adv.
In fourfold proportion.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > number > specific numbers > four > [adverb] > four times as much
fourfold1535
quadruply1599
quadruple1841
1535 Bible (Coverdale) 2 Sam. xii. 6 The shepe also shal he make good foure folde.
1873 B. Stewart Conservation of Energy i. 14 Its penetrating power is increased nearly fourfold.
1875 F. H. A. Scrivener 6 Lect. Text New Test. 7 [They] amount to at least fourfold that quantity.
C. n.
A fourfold amount. †Also spec. in U.S., ‘A quadruple assessment for neglect to make return of taxable estate’.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > number > specific numbers > four > [noun] > multiplication by four > four times as much
fourfoldc1380
quadruplec1425
quatreble1429
quadruplate1980
society > trade and finance > fees and taxes > impost, due, or tax > tax > [noun] > determined by assessment > type of
by-sess1650
fourfold1779
c1380 Eng. Wycliffite Serm. in Sel. Wks. II. 209 Ȝif y have ought bigiled ony Y ȝelde aȝen þe forefold.
1611 Bible (King James) Luke xix. 8 I restore him foure fold . View more context for this quotation
1779 Vermont St. Papers (1823) 296 The listers shall add the sum total of such additions and four-folds, to the sum total before mentioned.
Compounds
fourfold-visaged adj.
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1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost vi. 845 Nor less on either side tempestuous fell His arrows, from the fourfold-visag'd Foure. View more context for this quotation
Derivatives
ˈfourfold v. ‘to assess in a fourfold ratio’ (Webster Compend. Dict. 1806).
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1897; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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adj.adv.n.c1000