tertiary

Meanings

1. 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. 2
   adj

   Of third rank or order; subsequent.

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

3. 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

Common collocations

• tertiary syphilis Adjective + noun

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

External links

• Cambridge Dictionary
• Wiktionary
• Google Images