tertian

Estimated CEFR level: C2 — Proficiency

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

  1. adjective relating to symptoms (especially malarial fever) that appear every other day
  2. adjective of or relating to a tonal system based on major thirds

Etymology

From Middle English tertiān, terciān, terciāne (adjective and noun), originally often as part of the collocation fever cum terciane, after Latin febris cum tertiānā. Compare the "third" essence of tertiary. By surface analysis, terti- + -an.

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