Quaternary
//ˈkwɑ.tɚˌnɛɹ.i// adj, name, noun
adj, name, noun ·Moderate ·High school level
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A quaternary compound.
- 2 the cardinal number that is the sum of three and one wordnet
- 3 The Quaternary period or the system of deposits laid down during it.
Adjective
- 1 Of fourth rank or order. not-comparable
"the quaternary stress in a pronounced word"
- 2 Of a mathematical expression containing e.g. x⁴. not-comparable
- 3 Relating to or in number base four. not-comparable
- 4 quaternary ammonium. not-comparable
- 5 Composed of four elements. not-comparable
Adjective
- 1 coming next after the third and just before the fifth in position or time or degree or magnitude wordnet
- 2 consisting of or especially arranged in sets of four wordnet
Proper Noun
- 1 The geological period of the Cenozoic Era immediately following the Tertiary. It is subdivided into the Pleistocene and the Holocene Epochs.
"Meronyms: Pleistocene, Holocene, Anthropocene, assholocene"
- 2 Alternative letter-case form of quaternary. alt-of
Example
More examples"This phrase has a quaternary rhythm."
Etymology
Etymology 1
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.
Etymology 2
From Latin quaternārius (“consisting of four”), from quaternī (“by fours”); in numerical sense via Middle English quaternary. Compare French quaternaire.
Related phrases
More for "quaternary"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.