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quaternary

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quaternary¹

  • /kwəˈtɜː.nə.ɹi/ UK
  • /ˈkwɔːt.ən.(ə.)ɹi/ UK, rare
  • /ˈkwɑ.tɚˌnɛɹ.i/ US
  • /ˈkwɑ.tɚˌnɛə.ɹi/

Where it comes from

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.

adjective

  1. not comparable Of fourth rank or order. the quaternary stress in a pronounced word
  2. not comparable Of a mathematical expression containing e.g. x⁴.
  3. not comparable Relating to or in number base four.
  4. not comparable having a quaternary ammonium group. The available anticholinergics are divided into the tertiary anticholinergics, which cross the blood–brain barrier, and the quaternary anticholinergics, which do not cross the blood–brain barrier.
  5. not comparable Composed of four elements.

Similar: quartal, quartary

noun quaternaries

  1. A quaternary compound.
  2. The Quaternary period or the system of deposits laid down during it.

Quaternary²

  • /ˈkwɑt.əɹˌnɛɹ.i/ US
  • /kwəˈtɜɹ.nə.ɹi/ US
  • /ˈkwɒt.əˌnɛɹ.iː/ UK, rare
  • /kwəˈtɜː.nə.ɹiː/ UK

Where it comes from

From Latin quaternārius (“consisting of four”), from quaternī (“by fours”); in numerical sense via Middle English quaternary. Compare French quaternaire.

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

    Similar: Age of Man

  2. Alternative letter-case form of quaternary

Thesaurus

adjective

Similar: quartal, quartary

Translations

Every language

adj of fourth rank or order

Portuguêsquaternário
Françaisd'ordre quatre, quaternaire
Italianoquaternario
Русскийчетвертичный četvertičnyj

adj of mathematical expressions

Françaisd'ordre quatre

name geological period

EspañolCuaternario
日本語第四紀 daiyonki
PortuguêsQuaternário
Françaisquaternaire
DeutschQuartär
Italianoquaternario
РусскийЧетвертичный пери́од Četvertičnyj períod
Tiếng Việtkỉ Đệ Tứ

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Cite this
MLA

"quaternary." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/quaternary. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

quaternary. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/quaternary

Chicago

"quaternary." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/quaternary.

BibTeX
@misc{quaternary_2026,
  title = {quaternary},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/quaternary},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}