English Explanatory Dictionary

quaternary

English dictionary entry

Meanings

adj
  1. Of fourth rank or order.
  2. Of a mathematical expression containing e.g. x⁴.
  3. Relating to or in number base four.
  4. quaternary ammonium.
  5. Composed of four elements.
noun
  1. A quaternary compound.
  2. The Quaternary period or the system of deposits laid down during it.
name
  1. The geological period of the Cenozoic Era immediately following the Tertiary. It is subdivided into the Pleistocene and the Holocene Epochs.
  2. Alternative letter-case form of quaternary.

Pronunciation

/kwəˈtɜː.nə.ɹi/ /ˈkwɔːt.ən.(ə.)ɹi/ /ˈkwɑ.tɚˌnɛɹ.i/ /ˈkwɑ.tɚˌnɛə.ɹi/ en-us-quaternary.ogg en-au-quaternary.ogg kwŏt′ər-nĕr′ē kwə-tûr′nə-rē /ˈkwɑt.əɹˌnɛɹ.i/ /kwəˈtɜɹ.nə.ɹi/ /ˈkwɒt.əˌnɛɹ.iː/ /kwəˈtɜː.nə.ɹiː/

Word forms

quaternary quaternaries

Etymology

Derived from Latin quaternārius (“containing or consisting of four”), from quaternī (“four each”, “four at a time”) + -ārius (whence the English suffix -ary); compare the French quaternaire.

Synonyms

quartal quartary Age of Man

Related words

quaternion primary (1st) unary secondary (2nd) tertiary (3rd) ternary quartary (4th) senary septenary octonary nonary (9th) novenary denary duodenary vicenary tricenary sexagenary centenary (100) unitary binary trinary tetranary quinary Neogene Tertiary

Derived words

bisquaternary diquaternary nonquaternary pseudoquaternary quaternarily quaternarization quaternary ammonium quaternary care quaternary healthcare quaternary industry quaternary moon quaternary number quaternary sector quaternary sector of the economy quaternary structure quaternary twin quaternation quaternium negaquaternary quaternarist

Translations

Finnish: neljännen asteen French: d'ordre quatre
This entry uses open data from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA/GFDL). Word forms are used for search and are not indexed as separate pages.
Back to search All on Q Russian dictionary Dahl dictionary