1.
[syn: third estate, Commons]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Third \Third\ (th[~e]rd), a. [OE. thirde, AS. [thorn]ridda, fr.
[thorn]r[imac], [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[imac]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.
[1913 Webster]
2. Constituting or being one of three equal parts into which
anything is divided; as, the third part of a day.
[1913 Webster]
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.
[1913 Webster]
WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):
third estate
n 1: the common people [syn: third estate, Commons]
Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0:
34 Moby Thesaurus words for "third estate":
bourgeoisie, common people, common run, common sort, commonage,
commonality, commonalty, commoners, commons, laborers,
linendrapers, lower classes, lower middle class, lower orders,
lumpen proletariat, middle class, middle orders, ordinary people,
peasantry, plain folks, plain people, proletariat, rank and file,
shopkeepers, small tradesmen, the lower cut, the other half,
the third estate, toilers, toiling class, upper middle class,
vulgus, working class, working people