The
`erican Heritage®
`allege Dictionary
`
`FOURTH EDITION
`
`~
`
`Houghton Mifflin Company
`Boston • New York
`
`

`

`Words are included in this Dictionary on the basis of their
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`The American Heritage college dictionary.-- 4th ed.
`p.cm.
`Based on the fourth ed. of the American Heritage
`dictionary.
`ISBN 0-618-09848-8 (thumb edge ) -(cid:173)
`ISBN 0-618-19604-8 (deluxe binding)
`!. English language--Dictionaries. 2. Americanisms. I
`Houghton Mifflin Company. II. American Heritage
`dictionary.
`
`PE1628 .A6227 2002
`423--dc21
`
`2001039826
`
`Manufactured in the United States of America
`
`

`

`1433
`
`third force
`
`thoracotomy
`
`, ..
`
`thistle
`bull (or common) thistle
`Cirsium vu/gore
`
`third force n. A group of people or nations that mediates be(cid:173)
`tween two opposed groups, such as hostile nations.
`third •hand (thilrd'hiind') adj. 1. Acquired from or through two
`intermediate sources: a thirdhand report. 2a. Previously used by
`two other owners. b. Dealing in merchandise previously used by
`two other owners. -thirdthandt adv.
`third•ly (thilrd'le) adv. In the third place, rank, or order.
`ird market n. The market in stocks that are listed on an organ(cid:173)
`ued exchange but are traded outside of the exchange by brokers
`:-epresenting institutional investors.
`ird Order n. Roman Catholic Church A confraternity of layper(cid:173)
`ns associated with a religious order.
`ird party n. 1. A political party organized as opposition to the
`<risting parties in a two-party system. 2. One other than the prin(cid:173)
`·pals involved in a transaction.
`'rd person n. 1. The grammatical category of forms that desig(cid:173)
`te a person or thing other than the speaker or the one spoken
`Examples of forms in the third person include English pro(cid:173)
`uns such as she and they and verb forms such as Spanish hab/an
`ey speak." 2. A discourse or literary style in which the narrator
`aunts his or her own experiences or impressions using such
`.rms.
`d rail n. 1. The rail that supplies the high voltage to power a
`·.in on an electric railway. 2. A subject that tends to be avoided
`ause of its offensive or controversial nature.
`-rate (thilrdlriH') adj. Of third quality or value, esp. of less
`·ry or value than second-rate.
`Reich n. The German state from I 933 to 1945 under Adolf
`r. [Partial transl. of Ger. (das) Dritte Reich, (the) Third Em-
`• dritte, third+ Reich, empire; see REICH.J
`-stream (thilrd'strem') adj. Of, relating to, or being music
`blends classical music with jazz.
`World also third world n. 1. The developing nations of Af(cid:173)
`Asia, and Latin America. 2. Minority groups as a whole
`a larger prevailing culture. -Thirdl-Worldt adj. -Third
`ler n.
`thilrst) n. 1 a. A sensation of dryness in the mouth and
`related to a need or desire to drink. b. The desire to drink.
`insistent desire; a craving: a thirst for knowledge. ❖ intr. v.
`•ed, thirst•ing, thirsts 1. To feel a need to drink. 2. To
`• strong craving; yearn. [ME< OE thurst. See ters- in App.]
`ler n .
`•y thilr'ste) adj. -i-er, -i•est 1. Desiring to drink. 2. Arid;
`3. Craving something. 4. Very absorbent: a thirsty
`-thirst'i•ly adv. -thirst'i•ness n.
`n , thilr-ten1) n. 1. The cardinal number that is equal to
`of 12 + I. 2. The 13th in a set or sequence. 3. Something
`13 parts, units, or members. [ME thyrtene, alteration of
`< O E thrtotrne. See trei- in App.] -thir•teent adj. &
`
`th (thilr-tenth1) n. 1. The ordinal number matching the
`13 in a series. 2. One of 13 equal parts. -thir•teenth'
`
`th ilrlte-ith : n. 1. The ordinal number matching the
`m a series. 2. One o f 30 equal parts. -thir'ti•eth adv.
`
`.,:ti"-, pl -ties 1. The cardinal number equal to 3 x
`decade or the n umbers from 30 to 39: They
`r'rmu:s b. often Thirties The decade from 30
`3. An indication of the end of a news story,
`·
`rlrm}· < OE thritig. See trei- in App.)
`
`That is sometimes prescribed as the better choice in referring to
`what has gone before (as in the preceding example). When the
`referent is yet to be mentioned, only this is used: This (not that)
`is what bothers me: we have no time to consider late applications. •
`This is often used in speech and informal writing as a substitute
`for the use of the indefinite article to refer to a specific thing or
`person: I have this feeling that I forgot it. This informal usage is
`best avoided in formal writing except where conversational tone
`is deliberately being sought. See Usage Note at that.
`this•a•way (this'o-wa') adv. Southern & Midland US This way.
`This•be (thiz'be) n. Greek & Roman Mythology A young woman
`who killed herself after the suicide of her lover, Pyramus.
`this•tle (this1,I) n. 1. Any of numerous weedy plants, chiefly of
`the genera Cirsium, Carduus, or Onopordum of the composite
`family, having prickly leaves and variously colored flower heads
`surrounded by prickly bracts. 2. Any of various similar or related
`plants. [ME< OE thistel.)
`this•tle•down (this'ol-doun') n. The silky down attached to the
`seedlike fruit of a thistle; pappus.
`thith•er (thithlor, thith' -) adv. To or toward that place; in that
`direction; there. ❖ adj. Located or being on the more distant side;
`farther. [ME < OE thider. See to- in App.)
`thith•er•to (thlth'ar-to-o', thith'-) adv. Up to that time.
`thith•er•ward (thlth'or-ward, thith' -) adv. Thither.
`thix•ot•ro•py (thik-sotlra-p~) n. The property exhibited by cer(cid:173)
`tain gels of becoming fluid when stirred or shaken and returning
`thixis, touch
`to the semisolid state upon standing. [ < Gk.
`< thinganein, thig- , to touch. See dheigh- in App.]
`ThM abbr. Latin Theologiae Magister (Master of Theology)
`tho also tho' (tho) conj. & adv. fnformal Though.
`thole (tho!) n. A thole pin. [ME tho/le < OE tho/.)
`thole pin n. A wooden peg set in pairs in the gunwales of a boat
`as an oarlock.
`Thom•as (tom' os), Saint. One of the 12 Apostles, who doubted
`that Jesus had risen from the dead until he saw the wounds.
`Thomas, Clarence b. 1948. Amer. jurist who was appointed an
`assoriate justice of the US Supreme Court in 1991.
`Thomas, Dylan Marlais 1914-53. Welsh poet known for his
`bardic voice experiments with syllabic verse.
`Thomas, George Henry 1816--70. Amer. Union general who
`fought at Shiloh (1862) and Chickamauga (1863).
`Thomas, Norman Mattoon 1884-1968. Amer. socialist who was
`a founder of the American Civil Liberties Union (1920).
`Thomas, Seth 1785-1859. Amer. clockmaker and a pioneer in the
`mass production of clocks.
`Thomas a Kem•pis (a kem'pis, a) 1380?-1471. German ecclesi(cid:173)
`astic and writer of devotional literature, probably including The
`Imitation of Christ (1426).
`Tho•mism (to'miz'om) n. The theological and philosophical sys(cid:173)
`tem of Saint Thomas Aquinas, a system that dominated scholasti(cid:173)
`cism. -Thotmist 11. -Tho•mis'tic adj.
`Thomp•son (tomp'son, tom'- ), Benjamin. Count Rumford.
`1753-1814. Amer.-born British public official and physicist who
`concluded that heat is produced by moving particles.
`Thompson, Dorothy 1894-1961. Amer. journalist noted for her
`radio broadcasts and syndicated column "On the Record"
`(1936--41 ).
`Thompson, Sir John Sparrow David 1844-94. Canadian politi(cid:173)
`cian who served as prime minister (1892-94).
`Thompson River A river, c. 489 km (304 mi), of S British Co(cid:173)
`lumbia, Canada, flowing W and SW to the Fraser R.
`Thompson submachine gun n. A .45-caliber submachine gun.
`[After John Thompson ( 1860-1940), American army officer.]
`Thom•sen (tom'son), Christian Jurgensen 1788-1865. Danish
`archaeologist who proposed a three-part system for the chrono(cid:173)
`!oflcal c!mi!ication of prehistoric artifacts. divided into the
`,
`~ '6c-.c,a.ftod'\. .. - - - --(cid:173)
`-born Brillib
`
`