tertiary
Noun · AdjectiveOpen English WordNet
Noun (1)tertiaries
- the period from 63 million to 2 million years agoSynonyms: Tertiary periodInstance of period, geological periodPart of Cenozoic, Cenozoic eraParts Eocene, Paleocene, Oligocene, Pliocene, Miocene
What does it mean? Question 1 of today’s quiz
Webster's Dictionary (1913)
Origin: 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. Abp. Richard Chenevix Trench
2. Chemistry 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. Geology Later than, or subsequent to, the Secondary.
4. Zoology Growing on the innermost joint of a bird's wing; tertial; — said of quills.
Tertiary age. Geology 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.” Fred. William Fairholt — Tertiary period. Geology (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 Medicine, the third and last stage of syphilis, in which it invades the bones and internal organs.
1. Roman Catholic Church 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. William E., and Arnold, Thomas. Addis
2. Geology The Tertiary era, period, or formation.
3. Zoology 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 (1913), from GCIDE 0.54