quadrat

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Latin quadrātum.

noun

1. (sciences) An area of land, marked for studying its plants, animals, soil, natural processes, etc.

verb

1. To place a quadrat, or divide into quadrats.

Etymology 2

Attested since 1683. Possibly from French cadrat or Italian quadrato (“square”), from Latin quadrātum (“square”). So called because the basic quadrat, the em quadrat, has a square face, having the same width as the height of a line of type.

noun

1. (letterpress typography, obsolete) A quad; a blank metal block used to fill space in lines of type.
   If his Title be ſhort, he Sets it in the middle of the Line, by Setting Quadrats on both ſides: If his Title be long, he Sets the middle Line in the middle: If it make three or more Lines, he Indents the firſt with an m Quadrat, and the other with two m Quadrats. 1683, Joseph Moxon, Mechanick Exercises: Or, the Doctrine of Handy-Works. Applied to the art of Printing., volume 2, pages 222–23
2. (Egyptology) A virtual rectangular subdivision of a line or column of hieroglyphs within which a group of hieroglyphs is arranged.