tetraradical

English

Etymology

From tetra- +‎ radical.

Noun

tetraradical (plural tetraradicals)

1. (organic chemistry) A free radical having a four unpaired electrons

Adjective

tetraradical (not comparable)

1. (said of Semitic languages but rare) Having four consonants in its root.

   Synonyms: quadriliteral, quadriradical, quadriconsonantal

   • 2011 March 1, Eulàlia Vernet i Pons, “Semitic Root Incompatibilities and Historical Linguistics”, in Journal of Semitic Studies, volume 56, number 1, →DOI, page 3 footnote 6:

     With regard to ppl roots, Arabic has the noun dadan ‘toy’, probably a child’s term, but this is only a nominal root. Ethiopic also has a few examples with an identical first and second consonant root: these cases are derived from tetraradical forms of a biconsonantal origin, for example Eth. ssl ‘to leave’ < slsl < *sl.