tertian
adjective, noun
tertian is spelled T-E-R-T-I-A-N: 7 letters. It appears about once in every 46 million words in written English, the 209,386th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, tertian means “Characterised by paroxysms recurring every other day (that is, every third day by inclusive reckoning)” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in tertian?
| Letters | 7: T-E-R-T-I-A-N |
|---|---|
| In writing | about once in every 46 million words; the 209,386th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is tertian?
Tertian appears about once in every 46 million words in written English, the 209,386th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
What rhymes with tertian?
No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as tertian.
Spelled with the same letters in another order: nitrate, tainter, tartine.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of tertian
- tercian
- tertians plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does tertian mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Characterised by paroxysms recurring every other day (that is, every third day by inclusive reckoning).
- 2
Pertaining to the mean-tone temperament, in which major thirds are perfectly in tune.
noun
- 1
A tertian fever.
- 2
A cask of a certain size; its volume used as a measure of capacity (one-third of a tun's).
- 3
A Jesuit going through tertianship.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Where does tertian come from?
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.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).