Definitions for quaternaryˈkwɒt ərˌnɛr i, kwəˈtɜr nə ri

quat•er•nar•yˈkwɒt ərˌnɛr i, kwəˈtɜr nə ri(adj.; n.)(pl.)-nar•ies.

(adj.)consisting of four.
arranged in fours.
(cap.) of or pertaining to the present period of earth history forming the latter part of the Cenozoic Era, originating about two million years ago, and including the Recent and Pleistocene Epochs.
Category: Geology
(n.)a group of four.
the number four.
(cap.) the Quaternary Period or System.
Category: Geology

1400–50; late ME < L quaternārius consisting of four =quatern(ī) four at a time +-ārius -ary

Quaternary, Quaternary period, Age of Man(noun)
last 2 million years
four, 4, IV, tetrad, quatern, quaternion, quaternary, quaternity, quartet, quadruplet, foursome, Little Joe(adj)
the cardinal number that is the sum of three and one
quaternate, quaternary(adj)
consisting of or especially arranged in sets of four
"quaternate leaves"; "a quaternary compound"
fourth, 4th, quaternary(adj)
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"

quaternary(Adjective)
Of fourth rank or order.
quaternary(Adjective)
Of a mathematical expression containing e.g. x.
Quaternary(ProperNoun)
The geological period of the Cenozoic Era immediately following the Tertiary. It is subdivided into the Pleistocene and the Holocene Epochs.

Origin: From the quaternarius, from quaterni + -arius (whence the suffix -ary); compare the quaternaire.

Quaternary(adj)
consisting of four; by fours, or in sets of four
Quaternary(adj)
later than, or subsequent to, the Tertiary; Post-tertiary; as, the Quaternary age, or Age of man
Quaternary(noun)
the number four
Quaternary(noun)
the Quaternary age, era, or formation. See the Chart of Geology

Citation

"quaternary." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2013. Web. 19 Jun 2013. <http://www.definitions.net/definition/quaternary>.