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8 dictionary results for: Quaternary

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

quat·er·nar·y

[kwot-er-ner-ee, kwuh-tur-nuh-ree] Pronunciation Key adjective, noun, plural -nar·ies.

–adjective

1.	consisting of four.

2.	arranged in fours.

3.	(initial capital letter) Geology. noting or pertaining to the present period of earth history, forming the latter part of the Cenozoic Era, originating about 2 million years ago and including the Recent and Pleistocene Epochs.

4.	Metallurgy. (of an alloy) having four principal constituents.

–noun

5.	a group of four.

6.	the number four.

7.	(initial capital letter) Geology. the Quaternary Period or System.

[Origin: 1400–50; late ME < L quaternārius consisting of four, equiv. to quatern(ī) four at a time + -ārius -ary

]

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

qua·ter·nar·y (kwŏt'ər-něr'ē, kwə-tûr'nə-rē) Pronunciation Key
adj.

Consisting of four; in fours.
Quaternary Of or belonging to the geologic time, system of rocks, or sedimentary deposits of the second period of the Cenozoic Era, from the end of the Tertiary Period through the present, characterized by the appearance and development of humans and including the Pleistocene and Holocene epochs. See Table at geologic time.
Chemistry Relating to an atom bonded to four carbon atoms: a quarternary nitrogen atom.

n. pl. qua·ter·nar·ies

The number four.
The member of a group that is fourth in order.
Quaternary The Quaternary Period or its system of deposits.

[Latin quaternārius, from quaternī, by fours, from quater, four times; see k^wetwer- in Indo-European roots.]

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

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Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
quaternary

c.1430, "consisting of four parts," from L. quaternarius "of four each," from quaterni "four each," from quater "four times," related to quattuor "four." In geological sense, attested from 1843, proposed 1829 by Fr. geologist Jules Pierre François Stanislas Desnoyers (1800-1887) as name for "the fourth great epoch of geological time," but since it only comprises the age of man, and the other epochs are many hundred times longer, not all accepted it.

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WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

quaternary
adjective
1.	consisting of or especially arranged in sets of four; "quaternate leaves"; "a quaternary compound" [syn: quaternate]
2.	coming next after the third and just before the fifth in position or time or degree or magnitude; "the quaternary period of geologic time extends from the end of the tertiary period to the present" [syn: fourth]
noun
1.	last 2 million years
2.	the cardinal number that is the sum of three and one

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The American Heritage Science Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

quaternary   (kwŏt'ər-něr'ē) Pronunciation Key
Noun   Quaternary. The second and last period of the Cenozoic Era, from about 2 million years ago to the present. During this time the continents were situated approximately as they are today, although the geography was different due to fluctuations in sea levels caused by the advance and retreat of ice sheets. Humans first appeared during this period. See Chart at geologic time.

Adjective   Relating to or having a carbon atom that is attached to four other carbon atoms in a molecule. Quaternary pentane, for example, contains five carbon atoms of which one is in the center and the other four are each attached to it.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

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American Heritage Stedman's Medical Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

quaternary qua·ter·nar·y (kwŏt'ər-něr'ē, kwə-tûr'nə-rē)
adj.

Consisting of four; in fours.
Relating to an atom bonded to four carbon atoms.

n.
The member of a group or series that is fourth in order.

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Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Quaternary

Qua*ter"na*ry\, a. [L. quaternarius consisting of four each, containing four, fr. quaterni four each, fr. quattuor four: cf. F. quaternaire. See Four.]

1. Consisting of four; by fours, or in sets of four.

2. (Geol.) Later than, or subsequent to, the Tertiary; Post-tertiary; as, the Quaternary age, or Age of man.

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Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Quaternary

Qua*ter"na*ry\, n. [L. numerus quaternarius: cf. F. quaternaire.]

1. The number four. --Boyle.

2. (Geol.) The Quaternary age, era, or formation. See the Chart of Geology.

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