tercera

Tercera is the feminine form of the Spanish ordinal adjective tercero, meaning "third." It is used to indicate the third item, time period, or position when the noun it modifies is feminine. The masculine form is tercero, and the plural forms are terceros (masc.) and terceras (fem.). Phrases such as la tercera casa, la tercera vez, or la tercera persona illustrate its basic function of marking order with feminine nouns.

Originating in Latin, the word comes from tertius, with the same root as similarly formed ordinals in Romance languages. It typically appears in contexts ranging from dates and sequences to descriptions of stages or levels.

In grammar and linguistics, la tercera persona denotes the third person. It is used in verb conjugation and narrative perspective (tercera persona del narrador). In expressions of time and progression, la tercera edad refers to old age, la tercera fase to the third phase, and la tercera oportunidad to the third chance.

In music, la tercera refers to a third interval, one of the basic consonances between pitch classes. The descriptors mayor (major) or menor (minor) are used to specify whether the interval is a major or minor tercera.

La Tercera is the name of several newspapers and media outlets in Spanish-speaking countries, including a Chilean daily newspaper. The title reflects the ordinal meaning of third, often used to imply an alternative to more established publications.