Crossword clues for tertian
tertian
The Collaborative International Dictionary
Tertian \Ter"tian\, a. [L. tertianus, from tertius the third. See Tierce.] (Med.) Occurring every third day; as, a tertian fever.
Tertian \Ter"tian\, n. [L. tertiana (sc. febris): cf. OF. tertiane.]
(Med.) A disease, especially an intermittent fever, which returns every third day, reckoning inclusively, or in which the intermission lasts one day.
A liquid measure formerly used for wine, equal to seventy imperial, or eighty-four wine, gallons, being one third of a tun.
Wiktionary
a. 1 Of a fever, characterised by paroxysms every third day. 2 (context music English) Pertaining to the mean-tone temperament, in which major thirds are perfectly in tune. n. 1 A tertian fever. 2 The puncheon, an old wine cask, three of which made a tun.
WordNet
adj. relating to symptoms (especially malarial fever) that appear every other day; "tertian fever"
of or relating to a tonal system based on major thirds; "a tertian tonal system"
Wikipedia
In music theory, tertian (, "of or concerning thirds") describes any piece, chord, counterpoint etc. constructed from the intervals of ( major and minor) thirds. An interval such as that between the notes A and C encompasses 3 semitone intervals (A-B-B-C) and is termed a minor third while one such as that between C and E encompasses 4 semitones (C-D-D-E-E) and is called a major third. Tertian harmony (also called tertiary harmony) principally uses chords based on thirds; the term is typically used to contrast with quartal and quintal harmony which uses chords based on fourths or fifths.
A common triad chord can be regarded as consisting of a "stack" of two thirds. There are four permutations: A major third stacked on a major third creates an augmented triad. A minor third on top of a major third manifests a major triad. A major third on top of a minor third produces a minor triad. Finally, a minor third stacked on a minor third constitutes a diminished triad.
A musical scale may also be analysed as a succession of thirds.
The meantone temperament, a system of tuning that emphasises pure thirds, may be called "tertian".
Chords built from sixths may also be referred to as tertian because sixths are equivalent to thirds when inverted, and vice versa: any sixth can be taken as the inversion of a third. For instance the interval C-A is a major sixth that, when inverted, gives the interval A-C, which is a minor third.
Tertian root movements have been used innovatively in chord progressions as an alternative to root motion in fifths, as for example in the "thirds cycle" used in John Coltrane's Coltrane changes, as influenced by Nicolas Slonimsky's Thesaurus of Scales and Melodic Patterns.
Usage examples of "tertian".
The Romans knew that it occurred in different manifestations: quartan and tertian, and a more serious form having no regular rhythmic recurrence of the rigors.
Trader from whom I procured Jesuit Bark that the Indians use a Plant called Gallberry, which rivals the Bark of Cinchona for bitterness and is thought capital for Use in tertian and quartan Fevers.
It might be that the fever was not quotidian, but tertian, and that it would return next day.
Many of the sick from the inshore vessels were now aboard the Bellona and other ships of the squadron, most with fevers of one kind or another - tertians, double tertians, remittents and quartans for the most part, though there were three cases of the yellow jack - and very soon Dr Maturin was making at least his morning rounds, with Square in attendance to help him up on deck, where he would stand for half a glass or so, revelling with Jack, Tom and all hands present in the squadron's pace as the breeze came whistling in either over the starboard or the larboard bow, no longer a soldier's wind right aft as it had been the first day they sank the shore, but never heading them either, so that they beat steadily towards the Line, making legs a whole watch long.
Those German physicists lived and worked in the first half of the twentieth century-not too long ago by my notions of history, but if what these Tertians wanted me to believe were true-unlikely!
I was gathering a conviction that all Tertians were certifiably insane by Iowa standards.
Those German physicists lived and worked in the first half of the twentieth century—not too long ago by my notions of history, but if what these Tertians wanted me to believe were true—unlikely!