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tierce

[ teers ]

noun

  1. an old measure of capacity equivalent to one third of a pipe, or 42 wine gallons.
  2. a cask or vessel holding this quantity.
  3. 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.).
  4. Fencing. the third of eight defensive positions.
  5. Piquet. a sequence of three cards of the same suit, as an ace, king, and queen tierce major, or a king, queen, and jack tierce minor.
  6. Obsolete. a third or third part.


tierce

/ tɪəs /

noun

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


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Word History and Origins

Origin of tierce1

First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English, from Middle French, feminine of tiers, from Latin tertius “third”; third
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Word History and Origins

Origin of tierce1

C15: from Old French, feminine of tiers third, from Latin tertius
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Example Sentences

You strike high tierce like lightning and your blade is back in guard—oh yes!

And he killed him with a beautiful feint and thrust in tierce.

Occasionally they bought a cask—a tierce of forty-two gallons—and bottled it at home.

At tierce they are rung three times, for the second, third, and fourth hours which are then chanted.

This letter announced a small barrel of biscuit, a tierce of wine, a half tierce of brandy, and a Dutch cheese.

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tiertierced