in botany, "four-leafed," by 1845; see quadri- "four" + foliate (adj.).
Entries linking to quadrifoliate
quadri-
before vowels quad- (before -p- often quadru-, from an older form in Latin), word-forming element used in compounds of Latin origin and meaning "four, four times, having four, consisting of four," from Latin quadri-, which is related to quattor "four" (from PIE root *kwetwer- "four").
foliate adj.
1620s, "beaten into thin sheets," from Medieval Latin foliatus "leaved, leafy," from Latin folium "a leaf" (see folio). As "leaf-like" from 1650s.