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caturo

catu

masc nom pl of catu (card); masc acc pl of catu (card); masc nom sg of catura (adj)

1. catu (card): four (4)
2. catura (adj): clever; crafty; foxy; shrewd
3. caturo (card): four (4)

Built from

• catu — root · four
  The numeral four, from PIE *kʷetwr̥-. Cognates: English four, Latin quattuor, Greek téssares, Sanskrit catvāri. The semantic shift to 'clever' in catura likely reflects an old association of quickness with the number four.

Etymology. From Indo-European *kʷetwr̥- 'four', the same root that gives Sanskrit catvāri, Greek téssares/tettares, Latin quattuor, English four. The form catura (clever) derives from the sense of nimbleness or quickness associated with the number four in Proto-Indo-European (possibly linked to the four-footed swiftness of animals), though this semantic path is not fully transparent.

Meanings from the Digital Pāḷi Dictionary; morphology and etymology by Claude.

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