/kwot"euhr ner'ee, kweuh terr"neuh ree/ , adj., n., pl. quaternaries .
adj.
1. consisting of four.
2. arranged in fours.
3. ( cap. ) Geol. noting or pertaining to the present period of earth history, forming the latter part of the Cenozoic Era, originating about 2 million years ago and including the Recent and Pleistocene Epochs. See table under geologic time .
4. Metall. (of an alloy) having four principal constituents.
n.
5. a group of four.
6. the number four.
7. ( cap. ) Geol. the Quaternary Period or System.
[ 1400-50; late ME quaternarius consisting of four, equiv. to quatern ( i ) four at a time + -arius -ARY ]