quaternary

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Quaternary

WOTD – 7 April 2006

**English numbers ^(edit)**
← 3	4	5 → ^{[a], [b]}
Cardinal: four Ordinal: fourth Abbreviated ordinal: 4th Latinate ordinal: quartary, quaternary Latinate reverse order ordinal: preantepenultimate Adverbial: four times Multiplier: fourfold Latinate multiplier: quadruple Distributive: quadruply Germanic collective: foursome Collective of n parts: quadruplet Greek or Latinate collective: tetrad Greek collective prefix: tetra-, tessera- Latinate collective prefix: quadri- Fractional: quarter, fourth Elemental: quadruplet Greek prefix: tetarto- Number of musicians: quartet Number of years: quadrennium, olympiad

Etymology

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.

Pronunciation

(UK) IPA^(key): /kwəˈtɜː.nə.ɹi/, (rare) /ˈkwɔːt.ən.(ə.)ɹi/
(US) IPA^(key): /ˈkwɑ.tɚˌnɛɹ.i/, IPA^(key): /ˈkwɑ.tɚˌnɛə.ɹi/
- Audio (US): (file)
Audio (General Australian): (file)

Adjective

quaternary (not comparable)

Of fourth rank or order.
the quaternary stress in a pronounced word
Of a mathematical expression containing e.g. x⁴.
Relating to or in number base four.
(organic chemistry) quaternary ammonium.
(inorganic chemistry) Composed of four elements.

Usage notes

The fourth ordinal from Latin that might etymologically follow tertiary is quartary, but quaternary (from the distributive number instead) is more usual in English.

Synonyms

quartal
quartary (obsolete)

Derived terms

Related terms

quaternion

Translations

of fourth rank or order

Bulgarian: четвъртичен (četvǎrtičen)
Catalan: quaternari m, quaternària f
Estonian: neljas (et)
Finnish: kvartäärinen (fi), kvaternaarinen
French: d’ordre quatre, quaternaire (fr) m or f
Italian: quaternario (it)
Malay: aras empat, kuaterner (ms)
Portuguese: quaternário (pt)
Russian: четвертичный (ru) (četvertičnyj)

of mathematical expressions

Finnish: neljännen asteen
French: d’ordre quatre

Noun

quaternary (plural quaternaries)

(chemistry) A quaternary compound.
(geology) The Quaternary period or the system of deposits laid down during it.

English