Tertiary period

Tertiary period
Tertiary Ter"ti*a*ry, a. [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. --Trench. [1913 Webster]

2. (Chem.) 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}. [1913 Webster]

3. (Geol.) Later than, or subsequent to, the Secondary. [1913 Webster]

4. (Zo["o]l.) Growing on the innermost joint of a bird's wing; tertial; -- said of quills. [1913 Webster]

{Tertiary age}. (Geol.) 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.'' --Fairholt.

{Tertiary period}. (Geol.) (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} (Med.), the third and last stage of syphilis, in which it invades the bones and internal organs. [1913 Webster]


The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.

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  • Tertiary Period — Interval of geologic time, 65–1. 8 million years ago. It constitutes the first of the two periods of the Cenozoic Era, the second being the Quaternary. The Tertiary has five subdivisions: (from oldest to youngest) the Paleocene, Eocene, Oligocene …   Universalium

  • Tertiary period — noun from 63 million to 2 million years ago • Syn: ↑Tertiary • Instance Hypernyms: ↑period, ↑geological period • Part Holonyms: ↑Cenozoic, ↑Cenozoic era, ↑Age of Mammals …   Useful english dictionary

  • Tertiary — Ter ti*a*ry, a. [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. Trench. [1913 Webster] 2. (Chem.) Possessing some… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Tertiary age — Tertiary Ter ti*a*ry, a. [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. Trench. [1913 Webster] 2. (Chem.)… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Tertiary color — Tertiary Ter ti*a*ry, a. [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. Trench. [1913 Webster] 2. (Chem.)… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Tertiary formation — Tertiary Ter ti*a*ry, a. [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. Trench. [1913 Webster] 2. (Chem.)… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Tertiary syphilis — Tertiary Ter ti*a*ry, a. [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. Trench. [1913 Webster] 2. (Chem.)… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Tertiary (disambiguation) — Tertiary (from Latin tertiarius ) is an adjective meaning third or third hand . It may refer to:* The Tertiary period of the geologic time scale. * Tertiaries, members of a Third order (lay folk connected with a Mendicant Order). * Ternary… …   Wikipedia

  • tertiary — [tʉr′shē er΄ē, tʉr′shə rē] adj. [L tertiarius < tertius,THIRD] 1. of the third rank, order, formation, stage, etc.; third 2. Chem. a) third in order or type; involving the substitution of three atoms or radicals b) characterized by or… …   English World dictionary

  • Period — Pe ri*od, n. [L. periodus, Gr. ? a going round, a way round, a circumference, a period of time; ? round, about + ? a way: cf. F. p[ e]riode.] 1. A portion of time as limited and determined by some recurring phenomenon, as by the completion of a… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

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