Tertiary — Defs

01 a. Being of the third formation, order, or rank; third; as, a tertiary use of a word.

1.
Being of the third formation, order, or rank; third; as, a tertiary use of a word.
2.
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.(Chem.) See: Primary, Secondary
3.
Later than, or subsequent to, the Secondary.(Geol.)
4.
Growing on the innermost joint of a bird's wing; tertial; -- said of quills.(Zool.)

Phrases & compounds

Tertiary age — See under Age, 8.

Tertiary color — a color produced by the mixture of two secondaries.

Tertiary period — The first period of the age of mammals, or of the Cenozoic era.

Tertiary syphilis — the third and last stage of syphilis, in which it invades the bones and internal organs.

02 n. A member of the Third Order in any monastic system; as, the Franciscan tertiaries; the Dominican tertiaries; the Carmelite tertiaries. See …

pl. Tertiaries

1.
A member of the Third Order in any monastic system; as, the Franciscan tertiaries; the Dominican tertiaries; the Carmelite tertiaries. See Third Order, under Third.(R. C. Ch.) See: Third
2.
The Tertiary era, period, or formation.(Geol.)
3.
One of the quill feathers which are borne upon the basal joint of the wing of a bird. See Illust. of Bird.(Zool.) See: Bird