Quaternary

[cema]

noun: the cardinal number that is the sum of three and one
adjective: coming next after the third and just before the fifth in position or time or degree or magnitude


They must be kidding me. Why not just say "four" and "fourth"?

Comments

[i-s-d.livejournal.com]

it's like saying "olfactory" instead of "sense of smell". you would probably use olfactory when speaking with a higher intellecutal level individual (doctor, psychologist, etc.) and sense of smell in a more laid back conversation (mother to child, friend to friend, etc.).

[cema.livejournal.com]

This is slightly different, though. I would use the word "olfactory" instead of the expression "related to the (study of the) sense of smell", because it is less awkward, and not used in a laidback conversation simply because the word is not as well known and belongs to a different speech style. It can also be used in fixed or idiomatic expressions.

On the other hand, the word "quaternary" does have a meaning of "four" or "fourth", in addition to other meanings (also listed in the dictionaries). It's basically "four, pretense style", plus fixed expressions and perhaps idioms.

I would expect such subtle humor from a British publication, but I think onelook is American. :-)