tertiary

C1 Topic:Describing Qualities

US /ˈtɝ.ʃiˌɛɹ.i/ UK /ˈtɜː.ʃi.ə.ɹiː/ See IPA manual

Freq #50291

Meanings

1

adj
coming next after the second and just before the fourth in position

The word tertiary appears in scientific writing with a precise technical sense.
2

adj
Of third rank or order; subsequent.

The word tertiary appears in scientific writing with a precise technical sense.
3

adj
Possessing some quality in the third degree; especially having been subjected to the substitution of three atoms or radicals.

a tertiary alcohol, amine, or salt

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · coming next after the... third

More ternarytertial

Word family

Derived forms nontertiarypretertiarytertiarilytertiarization

Related forms cubic tertian

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

tertiary syphilis
a late stage of syphilis that can damage internal organs

Adjective + noun

Etymology

PIE word *tréyes Borrowed from the Latin tertiārius (“of the third part or rank”), from tertius (“third”) (from Proto-Indo-European *tr̥tyós, whence English third) + -ārius (whence the English suffix -ary); compare the French tertiaire. By surface analysis, terti- + -ary.

Topics

Describing Qualities Word Formation & Derivatives

External links

# tertiary

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C1
**Part of speech:** adj
**IPA (US):** /ˈtɝ.ʃiˌɛɹ.i/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈtɜː.ʃi.ə.ɹiː/
**Frequency rank:** 50291

## Meanings
1. coming next after the second and just before the fourth in position
2. Of third rank or order; subsequent.
3. Possessing some quality in the third degree; especially having been subjected to the substitution of three atoms or radicals.

## Examples
- The word tertiary appears in scientific writing with a precise technical sense.
- The word tertiary appears in scientific writing with a precise technical sense.
- a tertiary alcohol, amine, or salt

## Synonyms
- ternary
- tertial

## Derived Forms
- nontertiary
- pretertiary
- tertiarily
- tertiarization

## Related Forms
- cubic
- tertian

## Etymology
PIE word *tréyes Borrowed from the Latin tertiārius (“of the third part or rank”), from tertius (“third”) (from Proto-Indo-European *tr̥tyós, whence English third) + -ārius (whence the English suffix -ary); compare the French tertiaire. By surface analysis, terti- + -ary.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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