quaternary

Meanings

1. 1
   adj

   consisting of four parts or arranged in groups of four

   The researcher encoded each state with a quaternary symbol.

2. 2
   adj

   fourth in a sequence, rank, or level

   The diagram separates primary, secondary, tertiary, and quaternary structures.

3. 3
   noun

   the most recent geological period, extending from about 2.6 million years ago to the present

   Repeated glaciations shaped the landscape during the Quaternary.

From Latin quaternarius ("consisting of four"), from quaterni ("four each, by fours"). English developed general numerical and ordinal senses; geology later adopted Quaternary as the name of the fourth division in an older sequence of eras.

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