tierces

Noun

tierce (plural tierces)

1. (obsolete) A third.
2. Synonym of terce: the third canonical hour or its service.

   Synonyms:

   terce

3. (historical) A cask of a certain size, or its volume used as a measure of capacity. Larger than a barrel but smaller than a hogshead.
   • He then gave me a large piece of silver coin, such as I never had seen or had before, and told me to get ready for the voyage, and he would credit me with a tierce of sugar, and another of rum […].1789, Olaudah Equiano, chapter 6, in The Interesting Narrative, volume I
4. The third tone of the scale. See mediant.
5. A sequence of three playing cards of the same suit. Tierce of ace, king and queen is called tierce-major.
6. The third defensive position, with the sword hand held at waist height, and the tip of the sword at head height.
   • [W]e behold two men with lion-look, with alert attitude, side foremost, right foot advanced; flourishing and thrusting, stoccado and passado, in tierce and quart; intent to skewer one another.1837, Thomas Carlyle, The French Revolution: A History […], volume (please specify |volume=I to III), London: Chapman and Hall, →OCLC, (please specify the book or page number)

See all 9 meanings of tierce