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quaternary

 - 6 dictionary results

quat⋅er⋅nar⋅y

  [kwot-er-ner-ee, kwuh-tur-nuh-ree] adjective, noun, plural -nar⋅ies.
Use quaternary in a Sentence
–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
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To quaternary
qua·ter·nar·y   (kwŏt'ər-něr'ē, kwə-tûr'nə-rē)   
adj.  

  1. Consisting of four; in fours.

  2. 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.

  3. Chemistry Relating to an atom bonded to four carbon atoms: a quarternary nitrogen atom.

n.   pl. qua·ter·nar·ies

  1. The number four.

  2. The member of a group that is fourth in order.

  3. Quaternary The Quaternary Period or its system of deposits.


[Latin quaternārius, from quaternī, by fours, from quater, four times; see kwetwer- in Indo-European roots.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

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.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: 1qua·ter·na·ry
Pronunciation: 'kwät-&(r)-"ner-E, kw&-'t&r-n&-rE
Function: adjective
: consisting of, containing, or being an atom bonded to four other atoms

Main Entry: 2quaternary
Function: noun
Inflected Form: plural -ries
: QUATERNARY AMMONIUM COMPOUND
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Medical Dictionary

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

  1. Consisting of four; in fours.

  2. Relating to an atom bonded to four carbon atoms.

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

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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