Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- adjective Arranged in or consisting of sets or groups of three, as a compound leaf with three leaflets.
from The Century Dictionary.
- Arranged in threes; characterized by an arrangement of parts by threes; in botany, used especially of a compound leaf with three leaflets, or of leaves whorled in threes.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- adjective Having the parts arranged by threes.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- adjective botany Having
three divisions (orleaflets )
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- adjective (of a leaf shape) consisting of three leaflets or sections
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
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Examples
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(Moreton Bay chesnut), a fine species of SARCOCEPHALUS, and a large spreading tree belonging to the natural order RUTACEAE, with ternate leaves, axillary panicles of white flowers, about the size of those of BORONIA PINNATA.
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This was the al - ternate season when the western clans came to the caves.
Breed to Come Norton, Andre 1972
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Democritus (fifth century B.C.), from their approach, made Non-Being into an appellation for space, to al - ternate with, or be a replacement for kenon.
SPACE SALOMON BOCHNER 1968
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Rootstock slender and creeping from which fronds are produced all summer, in appearance like the small, ternate divisions of the bracken.
The Fern Lover's Companion A Guide for the Northeastern States and Canada George Henry Tilton
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Leafy or sterile segment triangular, ternate, long-petioled, springing from near the base of the plant, and spreading horizontally.
The Fern Lover's Companion A Guide for the Northeastern States and Canada George Henry Tilton
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Sterile segment sessile above the middle of the plant, broadly triangular, thin, membranaceous, ternate.
The Fern Lover's Companion A Guide for the Northeastern States and Canada George Henry Tilton
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Fronds broadly triangular, ternate, one to three feet high or more, the widely spreading branches twice pinnate, the lower pinnules more or less pinnátifid.
The Fern Lover's Companion A Guide for the Northeastern States and Canada George Henry Tilton
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Steinheil has also recorded a _Cerastium_ in which one of the leaves was provided with two midribs; above this leaf was a group of ternate leaves.
Vegetable Teratology An Account of the Principal Deviations from the Usual Construction of Plants Maxwell T. Masters
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Fronds glabrous, broadly triangular, ternate, four to seven inches broad, the divisions widely spreading, each division pinnate at the base.
The Fern Lover's Companion A Guide for the Northeastern States and Canada George Henry Tilton
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Its ternate character is shown even in the uncoiling of the fronds, the three round balls suggesting the sign of the pawnbroker.
The Fern Lover's Companion A Guide for the Northeastern States and Canada George Henry Tilton
chained_bear commented on the word ternate
Looking through 1800 Woodcuts by Thomas Bewick and His School, and found an image called "Ternate Bat." The image has it standing up looking rather like Dracul himself. But in a cute, bat-sy sort of way.
August 25, 2008
chained_bear commented on the word ternate
Seen here.
Interestingly, when I went googling for that image, I found that THIS page ranked higher than that one. Six hours after I posted the word. Power of Wordie!
August 26, 2008