Definitions for: Tertiary


[n] from 2 million to 63 million years ago
[adj] coming next after the second and just before the fourth in position



Webster (1913) Definition: 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.

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.



3. (Geol.) Later than, or subsequent to, the Secondary.

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

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.


Ter"ti*a*ry, n.; pl. Tertiaries.
1. (R. C. Ch.) 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. --Addis & Arnold.

2. (Geol.) The Tertiary era, period, or formation.

3. (Zo["o]l.) One of the quill feathers which are borne upon
the basal joint of the wing of a bird. See Illust. of
Bird.

Synonyms: 3rd, ordinal, Tertiary period, third

See Also: Age of Mammals, Cenozoic, Cenozoic era, Eocene, Eocene epoch, geological period, Miocene, Miocene epoch, Oligocene, Oligocene epoch, Paleocene, Paleocene epoch, period, Pliocene, Pliocene epoch

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