treilea

Treilea is a Romanian word that translates to "the third" and is used as an ordinal numeral in the language. It serves as both an adjective form and a substantive phrase indicating position in a sequence, and it is part of the traditional ordinal system that includes primul, al doilea, and al treilea. The word derives from Latin tertius, reflecting its Romance language lineage; cognates appear in many languages, such as French troisième, Italian terzo, Spanish tercero, and English third.

In Romanian usage, treilea typically agrees with the noun it modifies in gender and number and is used to designate the third item, person, or level in a set or ranking. It can appear in phrases like al treilea [noun] to specify masculine nouns, and similarly modified for other genders and numbers, as required by Romanian grammar. The form treilea can also function as a pronoun meaning "the third one," especially after a definite context.

Outside of core vocabulary, treilea may occur as part of proper names, geographic locations, or surnames in Romanian-speaking regions; in such cases it bears no intrinsic meaning beyond its role in the name.

Treilea is primarily a linguistic term; there is no single global subject formally known by this name beyond its ordinary use in Romanian. For related concepts, see ordinal numbers, Romanian language, and Latin etymology.