of the third order, rank, stage, formation, etc.; third.
2.
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.
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.
Of, relating to, or designating the short flight feathers nearest the body on the rear edge of a bird's wing.
Chemistry
Of or relating to salts of acids containing three replaceable hydrogen atoms.
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.]
1656, "of the third order, rank, degree, etc.," from L. tertiarius "of or pertaining to a third," from tertius "third." The geological sense (with capital T-) of "era after the Mesozoic" (which formerly was called the Secondary) is attested from 1794, after It. terziari, used in this sense 1760 by It. geologist Giovanni Arduino (1714-1795).
tertiaryAudio 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
Relating to or having a carbon atom that is attached to three other carbon atoms in a molecule.
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.
Main Entry: 2tertiary Function: adjective 1: of third rank, importance, or value 2 a: involving or resulting from the
substitution of three atoms or groups <a tertiary salt> b: being or containing a carbon atom having bonds to three other carbon atoms <an acid containing a
tertiary carbon> c: of, relating to, or being the normal folded structure of the coiled chain of a protein or of a DNA or RNA —compare PRIMARY 4SECONDARY 3 3: occurring
in or being a third stage <tertiary lesions of syphilis> 4: providing tertiary care <a tertiary medical center>
Main Entry: 1ter·tia·ry Pronunciation: 't&r-shE-"er-E, 't&r-sh&-rE Function: noun Inflected Form: plural-ries 1:TERTIARY COLOR 2: a lesion of tertiary syphilis
Do*min"i*can\, a. [NL. Dominicanus, fr. Dominicus, Dominic, the founder: cf. F. Dominicain.] Of or pertaining to St. Dominic (Dominic de Guzman), or to the religions communities named from him. Dominican nuns, an order of nuns founded by St. Dominic, and chiefly employed in teaching. Dominican tertiaries (the third order of St. Dominic). See Tertiary.
Syph"i*lis\, n. [NL., fr. Syphilus, the name of a shepherd in the Latin poem of Fracastoro, "Syphilus, sive Morbus Gallicus," which was published in 1530; Gr. ? hog, swine + ? dear, loving. The term was introduced into nosology by Sauvages.] (Med.) The pox, or venereal disease; a chronic, specific, infectious disease, usually communicated by sexual intercourse or by hereditary transmission, and occurring in three stages known as primary, secondary, and tertiary syphilis. See under Primary, Secondary, and Tertiary.
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Audio Help [tur-shee-er-ee, tur-shuh-ree] Pronunciation Key adjective, noun, plural -ar·ies. 
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