Do you count some numbers as lucky and some as unlucky? Scores
of people do. In fact, some folks are truly leery of certain figures.
Quadraphobia is the
fear of fours.
It’s not exactly a four-letter word, but it is a very real
fear for some.
This word, which also may be spelled as “quadrophobia,” is
derived in part from the Latin word “quad,” which means “four.” A person who is
quadraphobic is afraid of the number four, or anything that comes in fours or
foursomes.
This is somewhat similar to diaphobia (fear of the number
two), triskaphobia (fear of the number three), quintaphobia (fear of the number
five), septaphobia (fear of the number seven), octophobia (fear of the number
eight), nonophobia (fear of the number nine), triskaidekaphobia (fear of the number 13), hexakosioihexekontahexaphobia
(fear of the number 666), or numerophobia, which is the fear of numbers in
general. This may also be known as arithmophobia, although many describe that
more as a fear of mathematics.
Why would someone be afraid of a number? Maybe that’s the
$64,000 question.
Quadraphobia, in particular, may point to a fear of the Four
Horsemen of the Apocalypse, an image that strikes terror in many. Or it could
simply be a dread of double-dating, playing in a musical quartet in close
quarters, or traveling the proverbial four corners of the world.
Image:
A to Z Blogging Challenge promo logo –
fair use
Graphic adapted from public domain image
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