Adjacent Words

Third definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

THIRD, a. thurd. [L. tertius.] The first after the second; the ordinal of three. The third hour in the day among the ancients, was nine o'clock in the morning.
Third estate, in the British nation, is the commons; or in the legislature, the house of commons.
Third order, among the Catholics,is a sort of religious order that observes the same rule and the same manner of life in proportion as some other two orders previously instituted; as the third order of Franciscans, instituted by St. Francis in 1221.
Third point or tierce point, in architecture,the point of section in the vertex of an equilateral triangle.
Third rate, in navies. A third rate ship carries fRomans 64 to 80 guns.
Third sound, in music. See the noun Third.
THIRD, n. thurd. The third part of any thing. A man takes land and tills it for one third of the produce; the owner taking two thirds.
1. The sixtieth part of a second of time.
2. In music, an interval containing three diatonic sounds; the major composed to two tones, called by the Greeks ditone, and the minor called hemiditone, consisting of a tone and a half.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

adj
1: coming next after the second and just before the fourth in position [syn: third, 3rd, tertiary] n
1: one of three equal parts of a divisible whole; "it contains approximately a third of the minimum daily requirement" [syn: one-third, third, tierce]
2: the fielding position of the player on a baseball team who is stationed near the third of the bases in the infield (counting counterclockwise from home plate); "he is playing third" [syn: third base, third]
3: following the second position in an ordering or series; "a distant third"; "he answered the first question willingly, the second reluctantly, and the third with resentment"
4: the musical interval between one note and another three notes away from it; "a simple harmony written in major thirds"
5: the third from the lowest forward ratio gear in the gear box of a motor vehicle; "you shouldn't try to start in third gear" [syn: third gear, third]
6: the base that must be touched third by a base runner in baseball; "he was cut down on a close play at third" [syn: third base, third] adv
1: in the third place; "third we must consider unemployment" [syn: third, thirdly]

Merriam Webster's

I. adjective Etymology: Middle English thridde, thirde, from Old English thridda, thirdda; akin to Latin tertius third, Greek tritos, treis three — more at three Date: before 12th century 1. a. being next after the second in place or time <the third taxi in line> b. ranking next after the second of a grade or degree in authority or precedence <served as third mate> c. being the forward speed or gear next higher than second especially in a motor vehicle 2. a. being one of three equal parts into which something is divisible <a third share of the money> b. being the last in each group of three in a series <take out every third card> • third or thirdly adverb II. noun Date: 14th century 1. one of three equal parts of something <a third of the pie> 2. a. — see number table b. one that is next after second in rank, position, authority, or precedence <the third in line> 3. a. the musical interval embracing three diatonic degrees b. a tone at this interval; specifically mediant c. the harmonic combination of two tones a third apart 4. plural merchandise whose quality falls below the manufacturer's standard for seconds 5. third base 6. the third forward gear or speed especially of a motor vehicle

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. & adj. --n. 1 the position in a sequence corresponding to that of the number 3 in the sequence 1-3. 2 something occupying this position. 3 each of three equal parts of a thing. 4 = third gear. 5 Mus. a an interval or chord spanning three consecutive notes in the diatonic scale (e.g. C to E). b a note separated from another by this interval. 6 a a place in the third class in an examination. b a person having this. --adj. that is the third. Phrases and idioms: third-best adj. of third quality. --n. a thing in this category. third class the third-best group or category, esp. of hotel and train accommodation. third-class adj. 1 belonging to or travelling by the third class. 2 of lower quality; inferior. --adv. by the third class (travels third-class). third degree long and severe questioning esp. by police to obtain information or a confession. third-degree Med. denoting burns of the most severe kind, affecting lower layers of tissue. third eye 1 Hinduism & Buddhism the 'eye of insight' in the forehead of an image of a deity, esp. the god Siva. 2 the faculty of intuitive insight. third force a political group or party acting as a check on conflict between two opposing parties. third gear the third (and often next to highest) in a sequence of gears. third man 1 a fielder positioned near the boundary behind the slips. 2 this position. third part each of three equal parts into which a thing is or might be divided. third party 1 another party besides the two principals. 2 a bystander etc. third-party adj. (of insurance) covering damage or injury suffered by a person other than the insured. third person 1 = third party. 2 Gram. see PERSON. third-rate inferior; very poor in quality. third reading a third presentation of a bill to a legislative assembly, in the UK to debate committee reports and in the US to consider it for the last time. Third Reich see REICH. Third World (usu. prec. by the) the developing countries of Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Derivatives: thirdly adv. Etymology: OE third(d)a, thridda f. Gmc

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Third Third, n. 1. The quotient of a unit divided by three; one of three equal parts into which anything is divided. 2. The sixtieth part of a second of time. 3. (Mus.) The third tone of the scale; the mediant. 4. pl. (Law) The third part of the estate of a deceased husband, which, by some local laws, the widow is entitled to enjoy during her life. Major third (Mus.), an interval of two tones. Minor third (Mus.), an interval of a tone and a half.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Third Third (th[~e]rd), a. [OE. thirde, AS. [thorn]ridda, fr. [thorn]r[=i], [thorn]re['o], three; akin to D. derde third, G. dritte, Icel. [thorn]ri[eth]i, Goth. [thorn]ridja, L. tertius, Gr. tri`tos, Skr. t[.r]t[=i]ya. See Three, and cf. Riding a jurisdiction, Tierce.] 1. Next after the second; coming after two others; -- the ordinal of three; as, the third hour in the day. ``The third night.'' --Chaucer. 2. Constituting or being one of three equal parts into which anything is divided; as, the third part of a day. Third estate. (a) In England, the commons, or the commonalty, who are represented in Parliament by the House of Commons. (b) In France, the tiers ['e]tat. See Tiers ['e]tat. Third order (R. C. Ch.), an order attached to a monastic order, and comprising men and women devoted to a rule of pious living, called the third rule, by a simple vow if they remain seculars, and by more solemn vows if they become regulars. See Tertiary, n., 1. Third person (Gram.), the person spoken of. See Person, n., 7. Third sound. (Mus.) See Third, n., 3.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(thirds) Frequency: The word is one of the 1500 most common words in English. 1. The third item in a series is the one that you count as number three. I sleep on the third floor... It was the third time one of his cars had gone up in flames... ORD 2. A third is one of three equal parts of something. A third of the cost went into technology and services... FRACTION 3. You say third when you want to make a third point or give a third reason for something. First, interest rates may take longer to fall than is hoped. Second, in real terms, lending may fall. Third, bad loans could wipe out much of any improvement. = thirdly ADV: ADV with cl (not last in cl) 4. A third is the lowest honours degree that can be obtained from a British university. N-COUNT: usu sing

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

thurd (shelishi; tritos): Isa 19:24, "In that day shall Israel be the third with Egypt and with Assyria," etc., brings out very distinctly the universal and missionary character of Isaiah's prophecies and of Israel's destiny (compare Eze 16:63; and see G. A. Smith, Isaiah, II, 275, 278; Watkinson, Th. Blind Spot 21 ff).

For "third hour," "third month," "third year," see CALENDAR; DAY; TIME.

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

n. Third part.

Moby Thesaurus

consecutive intervals, degree, diapason, diatessaron, diatonic interval, diatonic semitone, divide in thirds, enharmonic diesis, enharmonic interval, fifth, fourth, half step, halftone, interval, irregular, less semitone, melodic interval, note, octave, parallel octaves, schlock, schmatte, second, semitone, seventh, sixth, step, tertiary, tierce, tone, trichotomize, trifurcate, unison interval, whole step