quatrefoil

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English

Quatrefoil with more overlap
Quatrefoil with less overlap
Quatrefoil combined with square

Alternative forms

Etymology

From Old French quatrefoil, from quatre (four) + foil (leaf).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /kætɹəˌfɔɪl/, /kætə(ɹ)ˌfɔɪl/
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Noun

quatrefoil (plural quatrefoils)

  1. (architecture) A symmetrical shape that forms the overall outline of four partially-overlapping circles of the same diameter.
    • 1988, Alan Hollinghurst, The Swimming-Pool Library, paperback edition, London: Penguin Books, →ISBN, page 142:
      It was a narrow, gravelled island we had to lie on, guarded by glazed brick chimneys and, running along the sides, a prickly little gothic fence of iron finials and terracotta quatrefoils.
  2. (heraldry) A stylized flower or leaf with four lobes.

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