Quad″rate (?), a. [L. quadratus squared, p. p. of quadrare to make four-cornered, to make square, to square, to fit, suit, from quadrus square, quattuor four. See Quadrant, and cf. Quadrat, Quarry an arrow, Square.] 1. Having four equal sides, the opposite sides parallel, and four right angles; square.
Figures, some round, some triangle, some quadrate. Foxe.
2. Produced by multiplying a number by itself; square. “ Quadrate and cubical numbers.” Sir T. Browne.
3. Square; even; balanced; equal; exact. “ A quadrate, solid, wise man.” Howell.
4. Squared; suited; correspondent. “ A generical description quadrate to both.” Harvey.
Quadrate bone(Anat.), a bone between the base of the lower jaw and the skull in most vertebrates below the mammals. In reptiles and birds it articulates the lower jaw with the skull; in mammals it is represented by the malleus or incus.