quaternary

adj 1: consisting of or especially arranged in sets of four;

"quaternate leaves"; "a quaternary compound" [syn: {quaternate}]

2: 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" [syn: {fourth}, {4th}]

n 1: last 2 million years [syn: {Quaternary}, {Quaternary period},

{Age of Man}]

2: the cardinal number that is the sum of three and one [syn: {four},

{4}, {IV}, {tetrad}, {quatern}, {quaternion}, {quaternity},

{quartet}, {quadruplet}, {foursome}, {Little Joe}]