Binary word meaning and definition

[noun] a system of two stars that revolve around each other under their mutual gravitation
[adjective] consisting of two (units or components or elements or terms) or based on two; "a binary star is a system in which two stars revolve around each other"; "a binary compound"; "the binary number system has two as its base"
[adjective] of or pertaining to a number system have 2 as its base; "a binary digit"

\Bi"na*ry\, a. [L. binarius, fr. bini two by two, two at a time, fr. root of bis twice; akin to E. two: cf. F. binaire.] Compounded or consisting of two things or parts; characterized by two (things). {Binary arithmetic}, that in which numbers are expressed according to the binary scale, or in which two figures only, 0 and 1, are used, in lieu of ten; the cipher multiplying everything by two, as in common arithmetic by ten. Thus, 1 is one; 10 is two; 11 is three; 100 is four, etc. --Davies & Peck. {Binary compound} (Chem.), a compound of two elements, or of an element and a compound performing the function of an element, or of two compounds performing the function of elements. {Binary logarithms}, a system of logarithms devised by Euler for facilitating musical calculations, in which 1 is the logarithm of 2, instead of 10, as in the common logarithms, and the modulus 1.442695 instead of .43429448. {Binary measure} (Mus.), measure divisible by two or four; common time. {Binary nomenclature} (Nat. Hist.), nomenclature in which the names designate both genus and species. {Binary scale} (Arith.), a uniform scale of notation whose ratio is two. {Binary star} (Astron.), a double star whose members have a revolution round their common center of gravity. {Binary theory} (Chem.), the theory that all chemical compounds consist of two constituents of opposite and unlike qualities.
\Bi"na*ry\, n. That which is constituted of two figures, things, or parts; two; duality. --Fotherby.

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