ternary

1. not comparableMade up of three things.

   Synonyms: treble, triadic, triple, triplex, tern, trinary, trine, tern

2. not comparableArranged in groups of three.
3. not comparablearithmeticTo the base three.

   Perhaps the prettiest number system of all is the balanced ternary notation

   1999, Donald Knuth, The Art of Computer Programming, 3rd edition, volume 2, →ISBN, page 207

   Synonyms: trinary

4. not comparablearithmeticHaving three variables.
5. not comparablechemistryContaining, or consisting of, three different parts, as elements, atoms, groups, or radicals, which are regarded as having different functions or relations in the molecule.

   Sodic hydroxide, NaOH, is a ternary compound.

6. not comparablecomputingOf an operator taking three operands.

   An "if…then…else" construction is called a ternary operator when it is combined in one line of a program.

plural ternaries

1. A group of three things; a trio, threesome or tierce.

   Synonyms: leash, tern, ternion, threeness, threesome, triad, trinary, trine

2. obsoleteThe Holy Trinity.

   And albeit these thynges be waighty and truthes of great importance, yet (by the infinite goodnes of the Almighty Ternarie,) Artificiall Methods and easy wayes are made, by which the zelous Philosopher, may wyn nere this Riuerish Ida, this Mountayne of Contemplation […] .

   1570, John Dee, in H. Billingsley (trans.) Euclid, Elements of Geometry, Preface

3. computingThe ternary operator.

   Although this code is technically correct, you should be cautious when using ternaries. Many developers actually don't like using ternaries because it's easy to miss small details or create quirky behaviors.

   Richie Miller, Computer Programming Bible: 12 In 1