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Third

Heraldic Terms
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

In heraldry, a mark indicating the third son’s lineage or one of three vertical divisions in a shield’s design.

Detailed Definition
The third symbolizes familial birth order or partition. Poets use it to suggest rank, sequence, or stages in narrative or character development.
Example
Example in poetry:
The third quarter held the arms of the maternal grandmother, memory nested in geometry; “Third of my heart,” the sonnet allocated love in heraldic portions; The poet saw the third hour of night as a time of revelation, like the third quarter; In cadency, the third son’s label bore three points—order in birth; The “third” in quartering teaches poets how to layer time and lineage.
Additional Notes
Third in heraldry often refers to the third quarter of a shield in quartered arms, or the position of a charge (e.g., “a mullet in the third quarter”); it can also denote the third son in cadency (marked by a mullet); in poetry, “third” may subtly reference birth order, trinity, or intermediate status—context determines symbolic weight.
Also Known As
Tierce (French-derived term) One-third
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