third

(t̸hʉrd)

adjective

  1. preceded by two others in a series; 3d or 3rd
  2. next below the second in rank, power, value, merit, excellence, etc.
  3. designating any of the three equal parts of something

Origin: ME thirde, altered by metathesis < thridde < OE thridda < IE *tṛtiyo- (< base *trei-, three) > L tertius, Gr tritos

adverb

in the third place, rank, group, etc.

noun

  1. the one following the second
  2. any person, thing, class, place, etc. that is third
  3. any of the three equal parts of something;
  4. the third forward gear of a transmission: it provides more speed but less torque than second
  5. Baseball third base
  6. Music
    1. the third tone of an ascending diatonic scale, or a tone two degrees above or below any given tone in such a scale; mediant
    2. the interval between two such tones, or a combination of them

See third in American Heritage Dictionary 4

noun
  1. The ordinal number matching the number three in a series.
  2. One of three equal parts.
  3. Music
    a. An interval of three degrees in a diatonic scale.
    b. A tone separated by three degrees from a given tone, especially the third tone of a scale.
  4. The transmission gear or gear ratio used to produce forward speeds next higher to those of second in a motor vehicle.
  5. Baseball Third base.
  6. thirds Merchandise whose quality is below the standard set for seconds.

Origin:

Origin: Middle English thridde, therdde, third

Origin: , from Old English thridda; see trei- in Indo-European roots

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Related Forms:

  • third adverb & adj.
Word History: Every native speaker knows that the cardinal three and the ordinal third are closely related, but many may wonder why the r comes before the vowel in the former and after in the latter. What we have here is metathesis, the switching of the order of two sounds. This is a common occurrence in languages, and especially so in English with the consonant r. In Old English, three was thrīe, and third was thridda. Thridda would have given us thrid in Modern English except for the metathesis of r and i. This metathesis began in Old English times in Northumbria: thridda appears as thirdda in Northumbrian manuscripts. The metathesis spread south during Middle English times and also affected many other words, including bird (originally bridd in Old English and in Chaucer's Middle English), and nostril, literally “nose hole” (from Old English thyrl). Metathesis even produced the curious form throp from thorp, “village,” which survives in the proper name Winthrop.

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