tierce UK /ˈtɪəs/US /ˈtɪɚs/noun 8tiercé adjective 1forms 1 noun8 •the third of the standard positions for blocking an attack in fencing, with the hand that holds the sword at waist height and the sword's point at head height[W]e behold two men with lion-look, with alert attitude, side foremost, right foot advanced; flourishing and thrusting, stoccado and passado, in tierce and quart; intent to skewer one another. — 1837 •(historical) a cask that is bigger than a barrel and often holds about 159 liters, with this amount also used as a unit of measure for goods such as wine or sugarHe then gave me a large piece of silver coin, such as I never had seen or had before, and told me to get ready for the voyage, and he would credit me with a tierce of sugar, and another of rum […]. — 1789 •a series of three playing cards in one suit that come next to each other in order, such as ace, king and queen •the note that comes third in a musical scale and is also called the mediant, such as E in the scale of C major •an upright heraldic band along the left or right edge of a shield or flag, as wide as one third of it •the third of the fixed daily times for Christian prayer, and the service of prayers held at this time, about 9 in the morning •(no longer used) one of three equal parts of something •(no longer used) a unit of time or angle that is one sixtieth of a second, found by splitting an hour or a degree into sixty parts three times tiercé adjective1 •Divided into three equal parts of three different tinctures; said of an escutcheon. formstierces
