quinary
Americanadjective
-
pertaining to or consisting of five.
-
arranged in fives.
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of, relating to, or noting a numerical system based on the number 5.
noun
plural
quinariesadjective
-
consisting of fives or by fives
-
fifth in a series
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(of a number system) having a base of five
noun
Etymology
Origin of quinary
1595–1605; < Latin quīnārius, equivalent to quīn ( ī ) five each + -ārius -ary
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Numbers like seven and 31 belonged to all of these systems, quinary, decimal, and vigesimal alike.
From "Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea" by Charles Seife
Modern mathematicians would say that Gog, the wolf carver, used a five-based or quinary counting system.
From "Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea" by Charles Seife
Even in the South American binary counting schemes, linguists see the beginnings of a quinary system.
From "Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea" by Charles Seife
Subordinate to either one of these the quinary may and often does appear.
From The Number Concept Its Origin and Development by Conant, Levi Leonard
In the eastern portions of North America and in the extreme western portions of South America the decimal or the quinary decimal scale is in general use.
From The Number Concept Its Origin and Development by Conant, Levi Leonard
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
