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Tertiary - 9 dictionary results
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ter⋅ti⋅ar⋅y

  [tur-shee-er-ee, tur-shuh-ree] adjective, noun, plural -ar⋅ies.
Use Tertiary in a Sentence
–adjective
1. 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.
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
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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ter·ti·ar·y   (tûr'shē-ěr'ē)   
adj.  
  1. Third in place, order, degree, or rank.
  2. Of, relating to, or designating the short flight feathers nearest the body on the rear edge of a bird's wing.
  3. 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.
  4. 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
  1. A tertiary feather.
  2. Tertiary The Tertiary Period or its system of deposits.
  3. Roman Catholic Church A member of a religious Third Order.

[Latin tertiārius, from tertius, third; see trei- in Indo-European roots.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Tertiary

Ter"ti*a*ry\, a. [L. tertiarius containing a third part, fr. tertius third: cf. F. tertiaire. See Tierce.]

1. Being of the third formation, order, or rank; third; as, a tertiary use of a word. --Trench.

2. (Chem.) Possessing some quality in the third degree; having been subjected to the substitution of three atoms or radicals; as, a tertiary alcohol, amine, or salt. Cf. Primary, and Secondary.

3. (Geol.) Later than, or subsequent to, the Secondary.

4. (Zo["o]l.) Growing on the innermost joint of a bird's wing; tertial; -- said of quills.

Tertiary age. (Geol.) See under Age, 8.

Tertiary color, a color produced by the mixture of two secondaries. "The so-called tertiary colors are citrine, russet, and olive." --Fairholt.

Tertiary period. (Geol.) (a) The first period of the age of mammals, or of the Cenozoic era. (b) The rock formation of that period; -- called also Tertiary formation. See the Chart of Geology.

Tertiary syphilis (Med.), the third and last stage of syphilis, in which it invades the bones and internal organs.

Tertiary

Ter"ti*a*ry\, n.; pl. Tertiaries. 1. (R. C. Ch.) A member of the Third Order in any monastic system; as, the Franciscan tertiaries; the Dominican tertiaries; the Carmelite tertiaries. See Third Order, under Third. --Addis & Arnold.

2. (Geol.) The Tertiary era, period, or formation.

3. (Zo["o]l.) One of the quill feathers which are borne upon the basal joint of the wing of a bird. See Illust. of Bird.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : Tertiary
Spanish: terciario,
German: tertiär,
Japanese: 第３次の
More Translations »

tertiary 
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).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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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

Main Entry: 2tertiary
Function: adjective
1 : of third rank, importance, or value
2 a : involving or resulting from thesubstitution of three atoms or groups tertiary salt> b : being or containing a carbon atom having bonds to three other carbon atoms 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 4 SECONDARY 3
3 : occurringin or being a third stage <tertiary lesions of syphilis>
4 : providing tertiary care tertiary medical center>
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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tertiary ter·ti·ar·y (tûr'shē-ěr'ē)
adj.

  1. Third in place, order, degree, or rank.
  2. Of or relating to salts of acids containing three replaceable hydrogen atoms.
  3. Of or relating to organic compounds in which a group is bound to three nonelementary radicals.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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tertiary   (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.
  2. Relating to an advanced level of medical care, usually provided by subspecialists after the delivery of primary medical care. Compare primary, secondary.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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