Webster
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Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary · 1913

Ternary

Ter′na·ry (tẽr′nȧ·ry̆), a. [L. ternarius, fr. terni. See Tern, a.] 1. Proceeding by threes; consisting of three; as, the ternary number was anciently esteemed a symbol of perfection, and held in great veneration.

2. (Chem.) Containing, or consisting of, three different parts, as elements, atoms, groups, or radicals, which are regarded as having different functions or relations in the molecule; thus, sodic hydroxide, NaOH, is a ternary compound.

Ter′na·ry, n.; pl. Ternaries. A ternion; the number three; three things taken together; a triad.

Some in ternaries, some in pairs, and some single. Holder.

Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Noah Porter, editor (Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913). Public domain. Text as transcribed by MICRA, Inc., from Project Gutenberg. Changed for Deep Dive Bible: Greek, which our source spelled in Latin letters, set in Greek letters; entries of one spelling merged into one article; Greek words our source left out (shown as “?”), read from the 1898 printing, from the same plates (the Library of Congress’s copy), where the place could be found with certainty.