Tierce
Tierce , noun
[French tierce a third, from tiers, tierce, third, from Latin tertius the third; akin to tres three. See Third, Three, and compare Terce, Tercet, Tertiary.]
1.
A cask whose content is one third of a pipe; that is, forty-two wine gallons; also, a liquid measure of forty-two wine, or thirty-five imperial, gallons.
2.
A cask larger than a barrel, and smaller than a hogshead or a puncheon, in which salt provisions, rice, etc., are packed for shipment.
3.
(Music) The third tone of the scale. See Mediant.
4.
A sequence of three playing cards of the same suit. Tierce of ace, king, queen, is called tierce-major.
5.
(Fencing) A position in thrusting or parrying in which the wrist and nails are turned downward.
6.
(Roman Catholic Church) The third hour of the day, or nine a. m,; one of the canonical hours; also, the service appointed for that hour.
Tiercé , adjective
[French]
(Heraldry) Divided into three equal parts of three different tinctures; -- said of an escutcheon.
Also: Tierce