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WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2024quat•er•nar•y (kwot′ər ner′ē, kwə tûr′nə rē),USA pronunciation adj., n., pl. -nar•ies. adj. - consisting of four.
- arranged in fours.
- Geology(cap.) 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. See table under geologic time.
- Metallurgy(of an alloy) having four principal constituents.
n. - a group of four.
- the number four.
- Geology(cap.) the Quaternary Period or System.
- Latin quaternārius consisting of four, equivalent. to quatern(ī) four at a time + -ārius -ary
- late Middle English 1400–50
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers:: quaternary /kwəˈtɜːnərɪ/ adj - consisting of fours or by fours
- fourth in a series
- containing or being an atom bound to four other atoms or groups
n ( pl -naries)- the number four or a set of four
Etymology: 15th Century: from Latin quaternārius each containing four, from quaternī by fours, distributive of quattuor four Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers:: Quaternary /kwəˈtɜːnərɪ/ adj - of, denoting, or formed in the most recent period of geological time, which succeeded the Tertiary period nearly two million years ago
n - the Quaternary ⇒ the Quaternary period or rock system, divided into Pleistocene and Holocene (Recent) epochs or series
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