Tertiaries - Definitions from Dictionary.com

3 results for: Tertiaries

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

ter·ti·ar·y

Audio Help [tur-shee-er-ee, tur-shuh-ree] Pronunciation Key adjective, noun, plural -ar·ies.

–adjective

1.	of the third order, rank, stage, formation, etc.; third.

Chemistry.

a.	noting or containing a carbon atom united to three other carbon atoms.

b.	formed by replacement of three atoms or groups.

3.	(initial capital letter) Geology. noting or pertaining to the period forming the earlier part of the Cenozoic Era, occurring from 65 million to 2 million years ago, characterized by the development and proliferation of mammals.

4.	Ornithology. tertial.

5.	Ecclesiastical. noting or pertaining to a branch, or third order, of certain religious orders that consists of lay members living in community (regular tertiaries) or living in the world (secular tertiaries).

–noun

6.	(initial capital letter) Geology. the Tertiary Period or System.

7.	Ornithology. a tertial feather.

8.	(often initial capital letter) Ecclesiastical. a member of a tertiary branch of a religious order.

9.	tertiary color.

[Origin: 1540–50; < L tertiārius of third part or rank, equiv. to terti(us) third + -ārius -ary

]

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
Tertiaries

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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

ter·ti·ar·y Audio Help (tûr'shē-ěr'ē) Pronunciation Key
adj.

Third in place, order, degree, or rank.
Of, relating to, or designating the short flight feathers nearest the body on the rear edge of a bird's wing.
Chemistry
1. Of or relating to salts of acids containing three replaceable hydrogen atoms.
2. Of or relating to organic compounds in which a group, such as an alcohol or amine, is bound to three nonelementary radicals.
Tertiary Of or belonging to the geologic time, system of rocks, or sedimentary deposits of the first period of the Cenozoic Era, characterized by the appearance of modern flora and of apes and other large mammals. See Table at geologic time.

n. pl. ter·ti·ar·ies

A tertiary feather.
Tertiary The Tertiary Period or its system of deposits.
Roman Catholic Church A member of a religious Third Order.

[Latin tertiārius, from tertius, third; see trei- in Indo-European roots.]

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The American Heritage Science Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

tertiary Audio Help   (tûr'shē-ěr'ē) Pronunciation Key
Noun   Tertiary. The first period of the Cenozoic Era, from about 65 to 2 million years ago. During this time the continents took on their present form, and the climate changed from being warmer and wetter, in the early part of the period, to being drier and cooler in the later part. Mammals replaced dinosaurs as the dominant form of terrestrial animal life, and many modern types of flowering plants, insects, mollusks, fish, amphibians, reptiles, and birds appeared. The Tertiary is subdivided into the Paleogene and the Neogene, although these terms are not as widely used as are the names of the epochs that constitute them. See Chart at geologic time.

Adjective

1. Relating to or having a carbon atom that is attached to three other carbon atoms in a molecule.
2. Relating to an organic molecule, such as an alcohol, in which the functional group is attached to a tertiary carbon.
Relating to an advanced level of medical care, usually provided by subspecialists after the delivery of primary medical care. Compare primary , secondary.