ternate

¹ American  

[tur-nit, -neyt] / ˈtɜr nɪt, -neɪt /

adjective

1. consisting of three; arranged in threes.

2. Botany.

   1. consisting of three leaflets, as a compound leaf.

   2. having leaves arranged in whorls of three, as a plant.

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Ternate ² American  

[ter-nah-te, ter-nah-tee] / tɛrˈnɑ tɛ, tərˈnɑ ti /

noun

1. an island in E Indonesia, W of Halmahera: important source of spices. 53 sq. mi. (137 sq. km).

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ternate British  

/ ˈtɜːnɪt, -neɪt /

adjective

1. (esp of a leaf) consisting of three leaflets or other parts

2. (esp of plants) having groups of three members

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Other Word Forms

• ternately adverb

Etymology

Origin of ternate

From the New Latin word ternātus, dating back to 1745–55. See tern ², -ate ¹

Example Sentences

Leaves binate, ternate, or both, from 10 to 15 cm. long, stout and rigid; resin-ducts external, or external and medial.

From The Genus Pinus by Shaw, George Russell

Radical and lower stem-leaves large, 1–2-pinnately compound, with leaflets cut into short narrow segments; upper stem-leaves ternate, with narrowly linear elongated leaflets; fruit 2–3´´ long.—Ohio to Ill. and Mo., south to Tenn. and Ark. July.

From The Manual of the Botany of the Northern United States Including the District East of the Mississippi and North of North Carolina and Tennessee by Gray, Asa

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

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

Leaves ternate, the lateral leaflets of the lower leaves parted nearly to the base; stamens 5, opposite to the sepals.—Iowa,

From The Manual of the Botany of the Northern United States Including the District East of the Mississippi and North of North Carolina and Tennessee by Gray, Asa

Related Words

• threefold