ternary vs three-ply

ternary

adj
  • Made up of three things. 

  • Arranged in groups of three. 

  • Having three variables. 

  • To the base three. 

  • Containing, or consisting of, three different parts, as elements, atoms, groups, or radicals, which are regarded as having different functions or relations in the molecule. 

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

three-ply

adj
  • Having three strands or layers 

noun
  • Yarn having three strands 

How often have the words ternary and three-ply occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )