tetralogue

From tetra- +‎ -logue.

tetralogue (plural tetralogues)

1. A discourse or colloquy involving four individuals.

   Synonym: quadralogue

   • 1966, Günter Grass; Ralph Manheim, transl., “The Prehistory and Posthistory of the Tragedy of Coriolanus from Livy and Plutarch via Shakespeare down to Brecht and Myself”, in The Plebeians Rehearse the Uprising: A German Tragedy, New York, N.Y.: Harvest Books, LCCN 66-23810, page xxxii:

     There exists a strange tetralogue entitled: “A study of the first scene of Shakespeare’s Coriolanus.” In it Brecht tried to record his preliminary discussions with his assistants.

   • 1991, John Bossy, “Dialogues, and a Small Riot”, in Giordano Bruno and the Embassy Affair, New Haven; London: Yale University Press, →ISBN, part I (A Dog in the Night-time), page 39:

     It sets the scene for the second layer of the work, the ‘tetralogue’ or four-sided dialogue between Smitho, a serious and enquiring English gentleman, Prudenzio, a classicist pedant, Frulla, a rude servant, and Teofilo, the narrator.

   • 2020, Arthur C. Graesser; Xiangen Hu; Vasile Rus; Zhiqiang Cai, “Conversation-Based Learning and Assessment Environments”, in Handbook of Automated Scoring: Theory into Practice (Chapman & Hall/CRC Statistics in the Social and Behavioral Sciences), CRC Press, →ISBN, part III (Practical Illustrations):

     Collaborative problem-solving has been assessed by tetralogues that have two agents interacting with two humans […].