The word quatrefoil comes from the Anglo-French quatre (four) and the Middle English foil (leaves). These were first combined into a single word in the fifteenth century, but the shape dates back even further. Examples can be found in the city of Constantinople during the Byzantine Empire as well as in ancient Mesoamerica, where it was used to symbolize elements including clouds, rain, and the crossroads between celestial realms and underworlds.
