Lexic.us

Definition of Quaternary

1. Adjective. Consisting of or especially arranged in sets of four. "A quaternary compound"

2. Noun. Last 2 million years.

3. Adjective. 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"

4. Noun. The cardinal number that is the sum of three and one.

Definition of Quaternary

1. a. Consisting of four; by fours, or in sets of four.

2. n. The number four.

Definition of Quaternary

1. Proper noun. (geology) The geological period of the Cenozoic Era immediately following the Tertiary. It is subdivided into the Pleistocene and the Holocene Epochs. ¹

2. Adjective. Of fourth rank or order. ¹

3. Adjective. Of a mathematical expression containing e.g. x⁴. ¹

¹ Source: wiktionary.com

Definition of Quaternary

1. [n -RIES]

Medical Definition of Quaternary

1. 1. Fourth in order. 2. Containing four elements or groups. Origin: L. Quaternarius, from quattuor = four This entry appears with permission from the Dictionary of Cell and Molecular Biology (11 Mar 2008)

Lexicographical Neighbors of Quaternary

quatch quatched quatches quatching quate quater in die quatercentenaries quatercentenary quatercentennial quatern

quaternaries quaternarily quaternarist quaternarists quaternarization quaternary (current term) quaternary ammonium quaternary ammonium compound quaternary ammonium compounds quaternary carbon atom

quaternary industry quaternary structure quaternary syphilis quaternate quaternation quaternations quaternion quaternionic quaternionist quaternionists

Literary usage of Quaternary

Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:

1. The American Naturalist by American Society of Naturalists, Essex Institute (1897)
"THE INFERIOR BOUNDARY OF THE quaternary ERA. BY OSCAR H. HERSHEY. The great diversity of physical conditions of the earth's- surface in the quaternary era ..."

2. An Introduction to Historical Geology: With Special Reference to North America by William John Miller (1916)
"As pointed out toward the beginning of the last chapter, the terms "Tertiary" and "quaternary" are both remnants of an old geological nomenclature, ..."

3. An Introduction to Historical Geology: With Special Reference to North America by William John Miller (1916)
"As pointed out toward the beginning of the last chapter, the terms "Tertiary" and "quaternary" are both remnants of an old geological nomenclature, ..."

4. Manual of Geology: Treating of the Principles of the Science with Special by James Dwight Dana (1894)
"The quaternary phenomena are mainly those that pertain to the continental surface; ... The following are the periods of the quaternary : — 3. RECENT PERIOD. ..."

5. An Introduction to Geology by William Berryman Scott (1914)
"CHAPTER XXXVI THE quaternary PERIOD THE quaternary is the last of the great ... quaternary deposits are to a very large extent continental in their origin ..."

6. The Secret Doctrine: The Synthesis of Science, Religion, and Philosophy by Helena Petrovna Blavatsky (1897)
"TRIANGLE AND quaternary. Q. Why is the violet, the colour of the Linga Sharira, placed al the apex of the /\, when the Macrocosm, ..."

7. Proceedings of the Royal Society of Edinburgh by Royal Society of Edinburgh (1900)
"On the Eliminant of a Set of Quadrics, Ternary or quaternary. ... The eliminant of four quaternary quadrics may be found in determinant form by a process ..."

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