vier

Vier is the German word for the number four. It functions as a cardinal numeral used in counting, arithmetic, clocks, dates, measurements, and labeling. In German, as in other West Germanic languages, vier is the basic form from which related words and compounds are built. It is cognate with the English four and the Dutch vier.

Etymology and related forms are rooted in Proto-Germanic and share common ancestry with other Germanic languages. The word appears in various inflected forms in German, such as vierzehn for fourteen, viermal meaning four times, and vierter as the ordinal form of four. The adverbial phrase zu viert denotes acting together as a group of four.

Usage and symbolism. Vier is used not only as a numeral but also as a productive stem in compound words and phrases. Examples include Viertel (quarter), Vierer (a group of four or a four-person vehicle), and in phrases like zu viert (as a party of four). The board game Vier gewinnt, literally “Four wins,” is known in German-speaking contexts as a name for the game Connect Four.

In mathematics and geometry, four is a small composite number and the square of two. In geometry, a quadrilateral is a polygon with four sides. In music, the interval of a fourth is a basic musical interval. These associations reflect vier’s role as a fundamental unit in counting and categorization, while its use extends to culture and daily language through a variety of derivations and phrases.