consisting of three; arranged in threes.
Botany.
consisting of three leaflets, as a compound leaf.
having leaves arranged in whorls of three, as a plant.
(esp of a leaf) consisting of three leaflets or other parts
(esp of plants) having groups of three members
From the New Latin word ternātus, dating back to 1745–55. See tern 2, -ate 1
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Radical-leaves.—Commonly pinnately ternate; the leaflets cut into three to seven usually linear lobes.
From The Wild Flowers of California: Their Names, Haunts, and Habits by Parsons, Mary Elizabeth
Steinheil has also recorded a Cerastium in which one of the leaves was provided with two midribs; above this leaf was a group of ternate leaves.
From Vegetable Teratology An Account of the Principal Deviations from the Usual Construction of Plants by Masters, Maxwell T.
Leaves ternate, from 7 to 14 cm. long; resin-ducts medial, or with an occasional internal duct, hypoderm biform.
From The Genus Pinus by Shaw, George Russell
Leaves binate or ternate, from 3 to 7 cm. long; resin-ducts medial, or with an occasional internal duct, hypoderm biform.
From The Genus Pinus by Shaw, George Russell
The radical leaves are stalked, well thrown out, drooping, and over 1ft. long, ternate and villous; the leaflets are pinnatifid and deeply toothed.
From Hardy Perennials and Old Fashioned Flowers Describing the Most Desirable Plants, for Borders, Rockeries, and Shrubberies. by Wood, John
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.
