tetractys

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Ancient Greek τετρακτύς (tetraktús).

Noun

tetractys

1. A triangular figure consisting of ten points arranged in four rows, representing the fourth triangular number and having mystical significance to the Pythagoreans.
   • 2009 July 2, Cintra Wilson, “Riches at Rainbow’s End”, in New York Times‎^[1]:

     ON the subway home, I noticed that the tattoo-esque logo for Solange includes a honeybee sitting in the middle of what looked like an early design by the 17th-century mystic Jakob Böhme: a flaming tetractys.

Further reading

• Means, Meaning, and Music: Pythagoras, Archytas, and Plato by Scott Makeig