Get the FREE one-click dictionary software for Windows
or the iPhone/iPad and Android apps
Adjective: quaternary  'kwó-tu(r),ne-ree or kwu'tur-nu-ree [N. Amer], kwu'tur-nu-ree [Brit]
  1. Consisting of or especially arranged in sets of four
    "a quaternary compound";
    - quaternate
     
  2. Coming next after the third and just before the fifth in position, time, degree or magnitude
    "the quaternary period of geologic time extends from the end of the tertiary period to the present";
    - fourth, 4th
Noun: Quaternary
  1. The period of the last 2 million years
    - Quaternary period, Age of Man

See also: multiple, ordinal

Type of: geological period, period

Part of: Age of Mammals, Cainozoic, Cenozoic, Cenozoic era

Encyclopedia: Quaternary