What does quadrangle mean?
Word: Quadrangle
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: Quadrangle means an open square or rectangular area with buildings on all four sides, especially in a school or college.
Synonyms: courtyard
Word origin: Comes from a Late Latin word built from the Latin words for four and corner.
How do you spell quadrangle?
Syllables: quad - ran - gle
Tricky part: The last syllable sounds like gul, so students write quadrangel or quadrangal. It ends in gle.
Watch out for: quadrangel, quadrangal
Memory tip: Picture a small green jungle growing in the college yard: the two words finish with the same three letters.
Quadrangle in a sentence
Example 1: Sunlight filled the quadrangle of the old college by noon.
Example 2: A neem tree shades the quadrangle of our school.
Example 3: This year the book fair was held in the quadrangle.
Fun Fact
Oxford colleges use this word and its short form, while Cambridge colleges usually call the same kind of space a court.
Practise the CREST Way
Sound Check
In which word is 'qu' pronounced differently?
a) quadrangle
b) quarrel
c) bouquet
d) quotient
Show answer
c) bouquet. In bouquet the qu is a plain k sound; in the other three it is kw.
Jumble Tumble
What is the meaning of the word that can be formed from the given letters?
gnrauqdlae
a) a raised stage at one end of a large hall
b) a grassy yard shut in by the walls of a college
c) a long narrow room at the very top of a house
d) a covered bridge joining two separate buildings
Show answer
b) a grassy yard shut in by the walls of a college. Begin with the q and u, and the rest follows: quadrangle, the yard with buildings round it.
Spellacadabra
Choose the word that takes the same letter in both blanks:
a) r_ct_ngle
b) qu_dr_ngle
c) p_nt_gon
d) oct_g_n
Show answer
b) qu_dr_ngle. Quadrangle needs a in both places; the other shapes need two different vowels.
Spell Probe
Choose the meaning of the misspelt word in the sentence:
Every morning the prefects line up in the quadrangle, and the headmistress reads out the notices from a low wooden platfrom beside the old banyan tree.
a) a large Indian fig tree with hanging roots
b) a raised flat area for speakers or performers
c) senior pupils who help to keep order in a school
d) a yard enclosed by the blocks of a school
Show answer
b) a raised flat area for speakers or performers. Platfrom should be platform, so the answer is its meaning.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Why does a quadrangle often feel sheltered?
a) heaters are placed in every corner
b) a glass roof covers the open space
c) the sun never reaches its ground
d) the buildings around it block the wind
Show answer
d) the buildings around it block the wind
2. Which event best suits a school quadrangle?
a) an assembly in the open air
b) a lesson in an upper room
c) a swimming race
d) a film show in the dark
Show answer
a) an assembly in the open air
