tierce

C2+ Topic:Describing Qualities

US /tɪrs/ UK /tɪəs/ See IPA manual

noun

Meanings

1

noun
a third in fencing, music, or cards; an old liquid measure of a cask

He parried the lunge with a deft move to tierce.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a third in fencing, music,... third cask barrel

Word family

Related forms tertiaryterce

Etymology

From Old French tierce ('third'), feminine of tiers, from Latin tertius ('third'), from the Proto-Indo-European root *trei- ('three').

tierce Old French tertius Latin *trei- Proto-Indo-European

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Topics

Describing Qualities

# tierce

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** tɪrs
**IPA (UK):** tɪəs

## Meanings
1. a third in fencing, music, or cards; an old liquid measure of a cask

## Examples
- He parried the lunge with a deft move to tierce.

## Synonyms
- third
- cask
- barrel

## Related Forms
- tertiary
- terce

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: tierce
- Root: tertius
- Root: *trei-

## Etymology
From Old French tierce ('third'), feminine of tiers, from Latin tertius ('third'), from the Proto-Indo-European root *trei- ('three').

## AI Etymology
Tierce comes from Old French tierce ('third'), feminine of tiers, from Latin tertius ('third'), from the Proto-Indo-European root *trei- ('three'). The form is best read as a historical transfer or inheritance, with its older language material carrying the main semantic load. As a noun, it denotes "a third in fencing, music, or cards; an old liquid measure of a cask", keeping the historical idea close to its dictionary sense. Relevant historical forms include Old French tierce, Latin tertius, and Proto-Indo-European *trei-. Related words include tertiary, terce.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities

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tierce

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