tierce

[ teers ]
/ tɪərs /

noun

an old measure of capacity equivalent to one third of a pipe, or 42 wine gallons.
a cask or vessel holding this quantity.
Also terce. Ecclesiastical. the third of the seven canonical hours, or the service for it, originally fixed for the third hour of the day (or 9 a.m.).
Fencing. the third of eight defensive positions.
Piquet. a sequence of three cards of the same suit, as an ace, king, and queen (tierce major), or a king, queen, and jack (tierce minor).
Obsolete. a third or third part.

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Origin of tierce

1325–75; Middle English < Middle French, feminine of tiers < Latin tertius third

Words nearby tierce

tientsin, tiepin, tiepolo, tier, tier table, tierce, tierce de picardie, tierced, tiercel, tierceron, tiered
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Example sentences from the Web for tierce

British Dictionary definitions for tierce

tierce
/ (tɪəs) /

noun

a variant of terce
the third of eight basic positions from which a parry or attack can be made in fencing
(tɜːs) cards a sequence of three cards in the same suit
an obsolete measure of capacity equal to 42 wine gallons

Word Origin for tierce

C15: from Old French, feminine of tiers third, from Latin tertius
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012