quadruplet
/ˈkwɒdrʊplɪt
/ /kwɒˈdruːplɪt /noun
1 (usually quadruplets) Each of four children born at one birth.Commotion over multiple births - quadruplets, quintuplets, sextuplets - isn't new....
- The birth of both boy and girl quadruplets has been an extremely rare occurrence in Shanghai in the past 30 years.
- About 500 sets of quadruplets are born each year in the US, according to the National Centre for Health Statistics.
2 Music A group of four notes to be performed in the time of three.Piano I intensifies the accompaniment of the bell effects by passing from quadruplet sixteenth to triplet sixteenth.
Origin
Late 18th century: from quadruple, on the pattern of triplet.