quaternion
qua.ter.ni.on \kw*-'t*r-ne--*n\ n [ME quaternyoun, fr. LL quaternion-, quaternio, fr. L quat]erni four each, fr. quater four times; akin to L quattuor four - more at FOUR 1: a set of four parts, things, or persons : TETRAD 2a: a generalized complex number composed of a real number and a vector and depending on one real and three imaginary units pl 2b: the calculus of the quaternion