Dictionary.com
definitions

quinary

[kwahy-nuh-ree]
See more synonyms for quinary on Thesaurus.com
adjective
  1. pertaining to or consisting of five.
  2. arranged in fives.
  3. of, relating to, or noting a numerical system based on the number 5.
noun, plural qui·na·ries.
  1. a number in a quinary system.

Origin of quinary

1595–1605; < Latin quīnārius, equivalent to quīn(ī) five each + -ārius -ary
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for quinary

quintuple, quinary, quinquennial, quintan, pentamerous, quinate

Examples from the Web for quinary

Historical Examples of quinary

  • Subordinate to either one of these the quinary may and often does appear.

    The Number Concept

    Levi Leonard Conant

  • In its structure the quinary is the simplest, the most primitive, of the natural systems.

    The Number Concept

    Levi Leonard Conant

  • Associated words: quinary, quintuple, quintuplicate, quincunx.

    Putnam's Word Book

    Louis A. Flemming

  • In the Mollusca circle two classes are still wanting to complete the quinary arrangement of that sub-kingdom.

  • The foregoing examples will show with considerable fulness the wide dispersion of the quinary scale.

    The Number Concept

    Levi Leonard Conant

British Dictionary definitions for quinary

quinary

adjective
  1. consisting of fives or by fives
  2. fifth in a series
  3. (of a number system) having a base of five
noun plural -ries
  1. a set of five

Word Origin for quinary

C17: from Latin quīnārius containing five, from quīnī five each
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for quinary
adj.

c.1600, from Latin quinarius "consisting of five, containing five," from quint "five each" (see five).

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper