Quaternary

4 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Quaternary \Qua*ter"na*ry\, a. [L. quaternarius consisting of
     four each, containing four, fr. quaterni four each, fr.
     quattuor four: cf. F. quaternaire. See {Four}.]
     [1913 Webster]
     1. Consisting of four; by fours, or in sets of four.
        [1913 Webster]


  
     2. (Geol.) Later than, or subsequent to, the Tertiary;
        Post-tertiary; as, the Quaternary age, or Age of man.
        [1913 Webster]

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Quaternary \Qua*ter"na*ry\, n. [L. numerus quaternarius: cf. F.
     quaternaire.]
     1. The number four. --Boyle.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. (Geol.) The Quaternary age, era, or formation. See the
        Chart of {Geology}.
        [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  quaternary
       adj 1: consisting of or especially arranged in sets of four;
              "quaternate leaves"; "a quaternary compound" [syn: {quaternate}]
       2: coming next after the third and just before the fifth in
          position or time or degree or magnitude; "the quaternary
          period of geologic time extends from the end of the
          tertiary period to the present" [syn: {fourth}, {4th}]
       n 1: last 2 million years [syn: {Quaternary period}, {Age of Man}]
       2: the cardinal number that is the sum of three and one [syn: {four},
           {4}, {IV}, {tetrad}, {quatern}, {quaternion}, {quaternity},
           {quartet}, {quadruplet}, {foursome}, {Little Joe}]

From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:

  41 Moby Thesaurus words for "quaternary":
     Little Joe, biquadrate, biquadratic, four, four-legged,
     four-part diaphony, four-rayed, foursome, foursquare, quad,
     quadrangle, quadrature, quadrennium, quadric, quadrilateral,
     quadrille, quadrinomial, quadrivalent, quadruped, quadruplet,
     quartet, quartic, quartile, quatern, quaternion, quaternity,
     quatrefoil, rectangle, square, square dance, squaring, tetractinal,
     tetrad, tetragon, tetragram, tetragrammaton, tetrahedron,
     tetralogy, tetraphony, tetrapody, tetravalent