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Webster 1913 Edition

Tertiary

Ter′ti-a-ry

,
Adj.
[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.
(Zool.)
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

,
Noun.
;
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.
(Zool.)
One of the quill feathers which are borne upon the basal joint of the wing of a bird. See Illust. of
Bird
.

Webster 1828 Edition

Tertiary

TER'TIARY

,
Adj.
Third; of the third formation. Tertiary mountains are such as result from the ruins of other mountains promiscuously heaped together.
Tertiary formation, in geology, a series of horizontal strata, more recent than chalk beds, consisting chiefly of sand and clay,and frequently embracing vast quantities of organic remains of the larger animals. It comprehends the alluvial formation, which embraces those deposits only which have resulted from causes still in operation; and the diluvial formation, which is constituted of such deposits as are supposed to have been produced by the deluge.

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