ternary
- adjective
- /ˈtɜrnəri/
- Specialized
:
ternario
- In mathematics, a ternary operation involves three operands working together.
- ternary relation
Examples
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Confronted with a ternary choice between local, regional, and national identities, the bourgeoisie of Siquijor could afford not to choose, not to hierarchize, not to perceive any tension, as long as it perceived all identity in kinship terms.
Academic text (1995) -
It goes on to do other things, but it is a very succinct example of ternary form.
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The control relationship is a ternary connection between an inside agent, an outside agent, and an economic event.
Academic text (1997) -
So here again we have the structure of the ternary complex bound to the mRNA.
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You can find all of the coexisting compositions of this ternary phase diagram simultaneously with one go through this algorithm.
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Rulain had pointed out to the Terraformer Authority that the galaxy consisted mostly of binary and ternary star systems, not loners such as our local sun, and that humanity must eventually seek out planets of such systems.
Fiction book (1999) -
Secondly, and more importantly for what follows, deducibility is a ternary relation. It obtains between a collection of premises, a conclusion, and a collection of ideas that are considered to be variable. A result of this is that there are arguments that are deductively valid with respect to some collection of ideas they contain, although they are not logically valid.
Academic text (2016) -
A ternary diagram helps visualize the relationship between three different variables.
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The artist used a ternary color scheme to create depth in her painting.
Synonyms
194
2.6
Made of three parts or three times as much
3
4.5
Having three parts or aspects
Something that has three parts or values
Three times as much
Having three parts
Divided into three separate parts
Having three parts or types
Involving three people or groups
Relating to three states or regions
How Many
Surface Forms
Morphology
ternary = three (semi-transparent) = tern + ary
The adjective is formed by the suffix '-ary' meaning 'relating to', but the combining form 'tern-' (meaning 'three') is less familiar to many learners, so the connection to 'three' is not fully obvious.
Etymology
The word ternary comes from the Latin terni, which means 'three each'. Like the familiar words trio and triangle, ternary means 'made of three parts'.