Definition of quinary in English:
quinary
adjective ˈkwʌɪnəriˈkwaɪˌnɛri
1Fifth in order or rank.
she discusses other mixtures, including those of the secondary through quinary colours
2Zoology
historical Relating to or denoting a former system of classification in which the animal kingdom is divided into five subkingdoms, and each subkingdom into five classes.
Example sentencesExamples
- When Darwin read that an opponent of the ‘quinary’ system was proposing a modification to sets of four, he expostulated in his notebooks, ‘Anyone may believe anything in such rigmarole about analogies and numbers’.
Origin
Early 17th century: from Latin quinarius, from quini 'five at once, a set of five', from quinque 'five'.
Rhymes
binary, finery, pinery, vinery, winery
Definition of quinary in US English:
quinary
adjectiveˈkwīˌnerēˈkwaɪˌnɛri
1Fifth in order or rank.
she discusses other mixtures, including those of the secondary through quinary colors
2Zoology
historical Relating to or denoting a former system of classification in which the animal kingdom is divided into five subkingdoms, and each subkingdom into five classes.
Example sentencesExamples
- When Darwin read that an opponent of the ‘quinary’ system was proposing a modification to sets of four, he expostulated in his notebooks, ‘Anyone may believe anything in such rigmarole about analogies and numbers’.
Origin
Early 17th century: from Latin quinarius, from quini ‘five at once, a set of five’, from quinque ‘five’.