English
Quaternary
Quaternary comes from Latin quaternārius ‘consisting of four’, and goes back to quaternī ‘by fours’.
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEquaternī‘by fours’by way of Middle English quaternary
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEquaternārius‘consisting of four’
- EnglishtodayQuaternary
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEquaternī‘by fours’by way of Middle English quaternary
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEquaternārius‘consisting of four’
- EnglishtodayQuaternary
Every English word from Latin quaternī
Today it means
name The geological period of the Cenozoic Era immediately following the Tertiary. It is subdivided into the Pleistocene and the Holocene Epochs.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Latin quaternī / Quaternary