Tetra- - Definition and Overview

Tetra is a Greek prefix meaning 4 (in constrast to quad- as in quadruped, which is Latin). Examples of "tetra" words include:

• In Solid Geometry a Tetrahedron (plural Tetrahedra) is a pyramid shape with six straight edges and four trangular faces.

• In chemistry, the number of subunits of like kind attached to a central molecule, as in carbon tetrachloride, a central carbon molecule with four chlorine atoms attached.

• In music a tetrachord is a chord or simultaneity with four pitches or pitch classes.

• A tetraodontiformes is a kind of fish with 4 shapes of teeth

• A tetralogy is a work made up of 4 distinct works.

• Tetragrammaton is a 4-letter word in Hebrew.

• A tetramorph is an arrangement of 4 different elements.

• Tetration is the fourth operation in the sequence that starts with addition and multiplication.

See Also

• Greek numerical prefixes