Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “Quaternary” come from?

Quaternary comes from French Quaternaire, meaning "consisting of four" or "fourth in order," ultimately deriving from Latin quaternārius with the same sense.

Ancestry of “Quaternary”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Latinquaternārius—
2Latinquaternus—
3Latinquaterfour times
4Latinquattŭor—
5Portuguesequartoordinal form of quatro; fourth; quarter; fourth;...
6Old Portuguesequartoquarter
7Latinquārtus—
8Proto-Indo-Europeankʷeturtos—
9Proto-Indo-Europeankʷetwóresfour
10Proto-Indo-Europeankʷe-and

Words derived from “Quaternary”

  • quaternarist
Every word from Proto-Indo-European kʷe- →