ter·na·ry

(tûr′nə-rē)

adj.

1. Composed of three or arranged in threes.

2. Mathematics

a. Having the base three.

b. Involving three variables.

n. pl. ter·na·ries

A group of three.

[Middle English, from Latin ternārius, from ternī, three each; see tern².]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

ternary

(ˈtɜːnərɪ)

adj

1. consisting of three or groups of three

2. (Mathematics) maths

a. (of a number system) to the base three

b. involving or containing three variables

3. (Chemistry) (of an alloy, mixture, or chemical compound) having three different components or composed of three different elements

n, pl -ries

a group of three

[C14: from Latin ternārius, from ternī three each]

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

ter•na•ry

(ˈtɜr nə ri)

adj., n., pl. -ries. adj.

1. consisting of or involving three; threefold; triple.

2. third in order or rank.

3. based on the number three.

a. consisting of three different chemical elements or groups.

b. (formerly) consisting of three atoms.

5. Math. having three variables.

6. a group of three.

[1400–50; late Middle English < Latin ternārius made up of three. See tern², -ary]

Ternary

set or group of three, especially the Holy Trinity.

Examples: ternary of stanzas, 1779; ternary of worthies, 1654; the Holy Ternary, 1662; the Almighty Ternarie, 1570.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun	1.	ternary - the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one and one 3, deuce-ace, III, tercet, ternion, terzetto, three, threesome, trey, triad, trine, trinity, trio, triplet, troika, tierce, leash digit, figure - one of the elements that collectively form a system of numeration; "0 and 1 are digits"
Adj.	1.	ternary - having three units or components or elements; "a ternary operation"; "a treble row of red beads"; "overcrowding made triple sessions necessary"; "triple time has three beats per measure"; "triplex windows" triple, triplex, treble multiple - having or involving or consisting of more than one part or entity or individual; "multiple birth"; "multiple ownership"; "made multiple copies of the speech"; "his multiple achievements in public life"; "her multiple personalities"; "a pineapple is a multiple fruit"

Translations

ternario

ternary

[ˈtɜːnərɪ] ADJ → ternario

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

ternary

adj → ternär

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

ter·nar·y

a. ternario-a, que se compone de tres elementos.

English-Spanish Medical Dictionary © Farlex 2012

Mentioned in

References in classic literature

A naturalist, struck by a parallelism of this nature in any one class, by arbitrarily raising or sinking the value of the groups in other classes (and all our experience shows that this valuation has hitherto been arbitrary), could easily extend the parallelism over a wide range; and thus the septenary, quinary, quaternary, and ternary classifications have probably arisen.

View in context

T2 and T5 of ternary optical processor are all determined by the response time of liquid crystal.

Optimization techniques for floating-point division of ternary optical computer

This paper explores the microstructural evolution of three Pb-free solders; two have a near-eutectic composition in a quaternary system, while a third has a composition along the eutectic valley of a ternary compound.

SMTA International Conference on Soldering and Reliability: "Microstructural Improvements of SAC Alloys with Bi Additions during Accelerated Thermal Cycling"

To combat Listeria, the antimicrobials--lactate, methyl-paraben and lauric arginate--were added individually, or in binary or ternary combinations, to emulsion-type sausages.

Antimicrobials with different solubility control Listeria in meat matrices

The most popular new features in Grapher 12 are three new graph types: function plot where X is a function of Y, ternary bubble plot, and horizontal box-whisker plot.

Golden Software Releases GrapherTM 12 2D and 3D Graphing Program

In order to better understand the behavior and impact of the waste's key components on the leaching process, both binary and ternary model systems were prepared to match the composition of OS processing ashes and investigated for comparison.

Leaching thermodynamics and kinetics of oil shale waste key components

In this paper, we introduce the notions of soft intersectional ternary subsemirings and soft intersectional ideals in ternary semirings.

SOFT INTERSECTIONAL IDEALS IN TERNARY SEMIRINGS

Bekaert has introduced a breakthrough in tire reinforcement with TAWI (ternary alloy wire coating on tire cord).

Superior adhesion of rubber and steel cord coated with Cu-Zn-Co ternary alloy

systematically investigated the mechanical and tribological properties of the unitary, binary, and ternary epoxy composites developed with microcapsules or/and short carbon fibers (SCFs).

Tribological and Mechanical Properties of PBT Composites with Microcapsules and Potassium Titanate Whiskers

Summary: The density and viscosity of binary and ternary mixtures of 2,5 Hexandione with cyclopentanol and cyclohexanol were measured at 298.15, 303.15, 308.15 and 313.15 K, from using this data (density and viscosity) the excess molar volume VE, Viscosition deviation In and activation excess parameters IG*E, IH*E and IS*E have been calculated.

Study of Volumetric, Viscometric and Thermodynamics Behavior of Binary and Ternary Systems for 2,5 Hexandione with Some Alcohol Cyclic at Different Temperatures

Other studies have shown the formation of ternary complexes (Simanova et al., 2011), including those of phosphate-metal-humic acid, with a positive effect on the inhibition of P adsorption to the soil (Guardado et al., 2005, 2007, 2008; Urrutia et al., 2013).

Formation of ternary organic acids-Fe-P complexes on the growth of wheat (Triticum aestivum)/Formacao de complexos ternaries de acidos organicos-Fe-P no crescimento de trigo (Triticum aestivum)