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third

 - 4 dictionary results

third

  [thurd] ,
Use third in a Sentence
–adjective
1. next after the second; being the ordinal number for three.
2. being one of three equal parts.
3. Automotive. of, pertaining to, or operating at the gear transmission ratio at which the drive shaft speed is greater than that of second gear for a given engine crankshaft speed, but not as great as that of fourth gear, if such exists: third gear.
4. rated, graded, or ranked one level below the second: He's third engineer on the ship.
–noun
5. a third part, esp. of one ( 1/3 ).
6. the third member of a series.
7. Automotive. third gear: Don't try to start a car when it's in third.
8. a person or thing next after second in rank, precedence, order: The writer of the best essay will receive a gold medal, the second a silver, and the third a bronze.
9. Usually, thirds. Law.
a. the third part of the personal property of a deceased husband, which in certain circumstances goes absolutely to the widow.
b. a widow's dower.
10. Music.
a. a tone on the third degree from a given tone (counted as the first).
b. the interval between such tones.
c. the harmonic combination of such tones.
11. Baseball. third base.
12. Usually, thirds. Commerce. a product or goods below second quality. Compare first (def. 16), second 1 (def. 23).
–adverb
13. in the third place; thirdly.
Origin:
bef. 900; ME thirde, OE (north) thirda, var. of thridda; c. D derde, G dritte, ON thrithi, Goth thridja, Gk trítos, L tertius, Skt tṛtīya. See three

Related forms:
thirdly, adverb
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To third
third   (thûrd)   
n.  

  1. The ordinal number matching the number three in a series.

  2. One of three equal parts.

  3. Music

    1. An interval of three degrees in a diatonic scale.

    2. A tone separated by three degrees from a given tone, especially the third tone of a scale.

  4. The transmission gear or gear ratio used to produce forward speeds next higher to those of second in a motor vehicle.

  5. Baseball Third base.

  6. thirds Merchandise whose quality is below the standard set for seconds.


[Middle English thridde, therdde, third, from Old English thridda; see trei- in Indo-European roots.]
third adv. & adj.
Word History: Every native speaker knows that the cardinal three and the ordinal third are closely related, but many may wonder why the r comes before the vowel in the former and after in the latter. What we have here is metathesis, the switching of the order of two sounds. This is a common occurrence in languages, and especially so in English with the consonant r. In Old English, three was thrīe, and third was thridda. Thridda would have given us thrid in Modern English except for the metathesis of r and i. This metathesis began in Old English times in Northumbria: thridda appears as thirdda in Northumbrian manuscripts. The metathesis spread south during Middle English times and also affected many other words, including bird (originally bridd in Old English and in Chaucer's Middle English), and nostril, literally "nose hole" (from Old English thyrl). Metathesis even produced the curious form throp from thorp, "village," which survives in the proper name Winthrop.
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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Word Origin & History

third  (adj.)
O.E. metathesis of þridda, from P.Gmc. *thridjas (cf. O.Fris. thredda, O.S. thriddio, M.L.G. drudde, Du. derde, O.H.G. dritto, Ger. dritte, O.N. þriðe, Goth. þridja), from PIE *tritjos (cf. Skt. trtiyas, Avestan thritya, Gk. tritos, L. tertius, O.C.S. tretiji, Lith. trecias, O.Ir. triss). Related to O.E. þreo (see three). Metathesis of thrid into third is attested from c.950 in Northumbria, but thrid was prevalent up to 16c. The noun meaning "third part of anything" is recorded from 1382. Third rail in electric railway sense is recorded from 1890. Third World War as a possibility first recorded 1947. Third-rate "of poor quality" is from 1814, ult. from classification of ships (1649); third class in railway travel is from 1839. Third Reich (1930) is a partial transl. of Ger. drittes Reich (1923). Third party in law, insurance, etc., is from 1818.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

third (thûrd)
adj.

  1. Coming next after second, as in order, rank, or time.

  2. Being the digit that is adjacent to and is on the outermost side of the second digit, as on a foot.

third n.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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