# Words having to do with sequence/order, ending in "-ary" **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 3, 2016, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-having-to-do-with-sequence-order-ending-in-ary/761691 "2016-08-03T21:29:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2016, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-having-to-do-with-sequence-order-ending-in-ary/761691/1 "2016-08-03T21:29:41Z")
Hey, I could use some help…I’m writing about tech/engineering stuff and am looking for words having to do with sequence/order, ending in “-ary.” Preliminary = beforehand Primary = main or first Secondary = second Tertiary = third Any words meaning “4th”? “5th?” “Final/last?” “Afterwards?” ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2016, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-having-to-do-with-sequence-order-ending-in-ary/761691/2 "2016-08-03T21:32:41Z")
> [@](#): > > **What comes after primary, secondary, tertiary?** > > The [sequence](http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/sequence) continues with [_quaternary_](http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/quaternary), [_quinary_](http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/quinary), [_senary_](http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/senary), [_septenary_](http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/septenary), [_octonary_](http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/octonary), [_nonary_](http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/nonary), and [_denary_](http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/denary), although most of these terms are rarely used. There’s no word relating to the number eleven but there is one that relates to the number twelve: [_duodenary_](http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/duodenary). [Oxford Languages | The Home of Language Data](http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/us/words/what-comes-after-primary-secondary-tertiary) [Ordinal numeral - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ordinal_number_(linguistics)) ---
**Author:** ![John\_Bredin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/96bed5/32.png) [@John\_Bredin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Bredin)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2016, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-having-to-do-with-sequence-order-ending-in-ary/761691/3 "2016-08-03T21:33:20Z")
Quaternary for fourth. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2016, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-having-to-do-with-sequence-order-ending-in-ary/761691/4 "2016-08-03T21:34:20Z")
Marvelous, thanks! ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2016, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-having-to-do-with-sequence-order-ending-in-ary/761691/5 "2016-08-10T00:51:30Z")
Are there any tech/engineering terms meaning “afterwards?” I know that “penultimate” and “terminal” mean second-to-last and last, respectively, although those words don’t end in “-ary.” ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2016, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-having-to-do-with-sequence-order-ending-in-ary/761691/6 "2016-08-10T00:56:35Z")
I have a feeling it’s a neologism, but “postliminary” is in some online dictionaries, and I’ve seen it in articles. I can’t find a first use reference. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2016, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-having-to-do-with-sequence-order-ending-in-ary/761691/7 "2016-08-10T01:30:00Z")
Not an order, but centenary signifies a period of 100 years. ---
**Author:** ![UDS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecae2f/32.png) [@UDS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UDS)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2016, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-having-to-do-with-sequence-order-ending-in-ary/761691/8 "2016-08-10T01:55:54Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > Are there any tech/engineering terms meaning “afterwards?” I know that “penultimate” and “terminal” mean second-to-last and last, respectively, although those words don’t end in “-ary.” “Subsequent” is the corresponding term that would signify “afterwards”. It’s not specifically a tech/engineering term but, then, neither are “penultimate” or “terminal”. (Plus, there’s also “antepenultimate”, for third-to-last. And if you’re going with antepenultimate and penultimate then the obvious term for last is “ultimate” rather than “terminal”.) ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2016, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-having-to-do-with-sequence-order-ending-in-ary/761691/9 "2016-08-11T03:56:01Z")
> [@Duckster](#): > > [Oxford Languages | The Home of Language Data](http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/us/words/what-comes-after-primary-secondary-tertiary) > [Ordinal numeral - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ordinal_number_(linguistics)) duodenary — \> why is the duodenum named that? “Late Middle English: from medieval Latin, from duodeni ‘in twelves’, its length being equivalent to the breadth of approximately twelve fingers.” > **[Oxford Languages | The Home of Language Data](https://languages.oup.com/)** > > Explore Oxford Languages, the home of world-renowned language data. Cool!