Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary · 1913
Quadrat
Quad′rat (kwŏd′rat), n. [F. quadrat, cadrat. See Quadrate.] 1. (Print.) A block of type metal lower than the letters, — used in spacing and in blank lines. [Abbrev. quad.]
2. An old instrument used for taking altitudes; — called also geometrical square, and line of shadows.