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Aug 14, 2013
This week's theme
There's a word for it

This week's words
snowbroth
anatopism
quaternary
elflock
allochthonous

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quaternary

PRONUNCIATION:
(KWOT-uhr-ner-ee, kwuh-TUHR-nuh-ree)

MEANING:
adjective:
1. Of the fourth order.
2. Consisting of or arranged in fours.

noun:
1. A group of four.
2. The number four.

ETYMOLOGY:
From Latin quattuor (four). Earliest documented use: 1450.

USAGE:
"The patient referral system started at the primary, to secondary, to tertiary, and finally to the quaternary level of health care."
Jane Kanchense; Zimbabwe's Child Brides; Trafford; 2011.

See more usage examples of quaternary in Vocabulary.com's dictionary.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
They defend their errors as if they were defending their inheritance. -Edmund Burke, statesman and writer (1729-1797)

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