tercio

See also: terció

English

Noun

tercio (plural tercios)

1. (bullfighting) Any of the three stages of a bullfight: the vara, the banderilla and finally the death.
2. (military) A mutually supportive infantry formation made up of pikemen, swordsmen and arquebusiers or musketeers.

Anagrams

• erotic

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Spanish

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin tertius.

Pronunciation

• (Castilian) IPA^(key): /ˈteɾθjo/, [ˈt̪eɾθjo]
• (Latin America) IPA^(key): /ˈtersjo/, [ˈt̪ersjo]

Adjective

tercio (feminine singular tercia, masculine plural tercios, feminine plural tercias)

1. third

Usage notes

• This word is used to express the denominator of a fraction:

Un tercio del total de la población sufre de obesidad.

The third [part] of the population is obese.

• The adjective tercero can also be used in this sense, but it should be accompanied by an auxiliary noun such as parte:

Me comí la tercera parte del pastel.

I ate the third part of the cake.

Noun

tercio m (plural tercios)

1. third
2. (bullfighting) tercio

Derived terms

• cambiar de tercio

Verb

tercio

1. First-person singular (yo) present indicative form of terciar.