I. ˈthərd, ˈthə̄d, ˈthəid adjective
Etymology: Middle English thirde, thridde, from Old English thirdda, thridda; akin to Old High German dritto third, Old Norse thrithi, Gothic thridja, Latin tertius, Greek tritos, Sanskrit tṛtīya; derivative from the root of Old English thrīe, thrēo three — more at three
1.
a. : being number three in a countable series
the third day
— abbr. 3d or 3rd ; see number table
b.
(1) : being next to the second in place or time
third in line for promotion
(2) : ranking next to the second of a grade or degree in authority or precedence
third mate
c. : being a type of grammatical declension or conjugation conventionally placed third in a standard arrangement of the types
d. : being the forward speed or gear next higher than second in an automotive vehicle
2.
a. : being one of three equal parts into which anything is divisible
a third share of the money
b. : being the last in each group of three in a series — often preceded by every
take out every third card
3. : other than the two known, mentioned, or participating
there cannot be a third person in a secret
4. : being between 2.51 and 3.50 on the magnitude scale — used of the magnitude of a star
II. noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English thridde, from thirde, thridde, adjective
1. : number three in a countable series
the third of the month
2. : the quotient of a unit divided by three : one of three equal parts of something
one third of the total
3. thirds plural
a. : the third part of the personal estate of a deceased husband which by the common-law statute of distribution and by some local statutes goes after various conditions have been fulfilled absolutely to the widow upon the husband's dying intestate and leaving a child or descendant
b. : a widow's dower
c. : a widow's statutory right to share in her deceased husband's estate and especially in his personalty
d. Scots law : the third part of the revenues of the ecclesiastical benefices taken in 1562 and 1567 and later by the king into his hands and appropriated to the support of the acting clergy
4.
a. : a musical interval embracing three diatonic degrees
b. : a tone at this interval ; specifically : the third note or tone of a scale : mediant
c. : the harmonic combination of two tones a third apart
5. : an article of merchandise (as coarse flour) of a third grade or quality or inferior to seconds — usually used in plural
6. : the price formerly paid by a student entering a British university for the furniture in his rooms being commonly two thirds of that paid by the previous tenant
7. : third base
8. : the third gear or speed of an automotive vehicle
9. : tierce 4
10. : one having authority or precedence next below that of a person (as a mate) ranking second in a grade or degree
III. adverb
Etymology: third (I)
1. : in the third place
2. : with two exceptions
the nation's third largest city
IV. transitive verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: ME(Scots) thridden, from Middle English thirde, thridde, adjective, third
1. : to divide into three parts
2. : to follow a seconder in supporting (as a motion)