tertial, a. and n. Ornith.
(ˈtɜːʃəl)
[f. L. terti-us third + -al1.]
a. adj. Of or pertaining to the third rank or row of quill- or flight-feathers in the wing of a bird. b. n. A flight-feather of the third row; sometimes erroneously applied to secondaries on the elbow-joint. See tertiary B. 3.
| 1836 Swainson Nat. Hist. Birds I. i. iii. 81 They [Quills]..form three divisions, distinguished as the primaries, the secondaries, and the tertials... The tertials..have their origin from the humerus. 1842 Brande Dict. Sc., etc., Tertials. 1874 Coues Birds N.W. 665 The color of the mantle extends..to the tips of the tertials. |