chatush

Chatush is a term of Sanskrit origin meaning "fourfold" or "four." It is used in Indian linguistic and philosophical contexts as a combining form or nominal stem to indicate a division into four parts. The etymology traces to the Sanskrit root catu- or chatur-, meaning four, with chatush representing a spoken or transliterated variant common in certain dialects and scholarly readings.

In classical and medieval Indian literature, chatush appears in compounds that describe quadruple classifications—such as four kinds of knowledge, four divisions of a concept, or four aspects of a phenomenon—though the precise interpretation depends on the tradition and text. It is particularly common in commentarial works that organize material into fourfold schemas.

In modern usage, chatush is sometimes encountered in philological discussions or in the naming of concepts that are intended to be four-part in nature. It functions largely as a semantic prefix or nominal basis rather than as a standalone concept with a fixed, universal meaning.

Because the term occurs primarily in scholarly or religious contexts and may vary by tradition, references to chatush should be understood within the doctrinal framework of the source text. See also related prefixes such as catu- or chatur-, which are used to form compounds indicating groups of four.