# One Third **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 3, 2006, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-third/342885 "2006-02-03T19:41:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![cerberus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/71e660/32.png) [@cerberus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cerberus)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2006, 9:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-third/342885/21 "2006-02-05T09:29:18Z")
Tertiles suggest that _Terti_ would be useful for this purpose, along with its’ friend _tri_. Tertiannually: Every third of a year(four months). Triannually: Every three years. ---
**Author:** ![foobarbazqux](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f07891/32.png) [@foobarbazqux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foobarbazqux)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2015, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-third/342885/22 "2015-10-07T02:04:35Z")
What the hell. I’m going to dredge this up from long ago! > [@Kimstu](#): > > By the way, “semi-” is from Latin _semis_, “one-half”. So since the Latin term for “one-third” is _triens_, I suppose you could use “triens-” or a derived form as the prefix you’re looking for. > > Triens-circle. Triens-annually. Eh, it doesn’t really sing, does it? > > Latin for “two-thirds”, by the way, is _bes_. Have fun! Close. You can do this one-third, one-fourth, etc. kind of thing for certain time intervals in English. But first note that the prefix semi- is special. It’s useful for disambiguating with bi-, but this sort of thing doesn’t exist in English for any other divisor besides 2. Instead, there are two forms for the suffix part, according to whether it is multiplied or divided. So, biannual (adj), biannually (adv) = twice a year biennial (adj), biennially (adv) = every other year triannual (adj), triannually (adv) = three times a year triennial (adj), triennially (adv) = every third year etc. These forms also exist for the month, although rarely used in English. Nevertheless, I think they sound right, so to speak. bimensual (adj), bimensually (adv) = twice a month bimestral (adj), bimestrally (adv) = every other month trimensual (adj), trimensually (adv) = three times a month trimestral (adj), trimestrally (adv) = every third month (Note the connection to the word trimester.) Latin had no week, and it seems especially silly to slice up a day in this way (as opposed to speaking of hours), so I guess that’s pretty much as far as it goes. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2015, 7:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-third/342885/23 "2015-10-07T07:38:52Z")
> [@t-bonham@scc.net](#): > > For good reason – we don’t commonly divide things into thirds. > It’s much harder to do so accurately than halves. **How would you produce a 1/3 circle** , or 1/3 sphere? It’s not easy. As long as this thread has been dredged up from the depths, I’ll comment on this. It’s _absurdly, ridiculously, totally trivial to divide a circle into thirds._ ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2015, 8:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-third/342885/24 "2015-10-07T08:27:04Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > As long as this thread has been dredged up from the depths, I’ll comment on this. > > It’s _absurdly, ridiculously, totally trivial to divide a circle into thirds._ Without a protractor? ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2015, 10:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-third/342885/25 "2015-10-07T10:42:49Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > Without a protractor? Straightedge and a marker will do it. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wFAAyqE7HT8](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wFAAyqE7HT8) ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2015, 11:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-third/342885/26 "2015-10-07T11:44:25Z")
> [@bob\_2](#): > > Straightedge and a marker will do it. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wFAAyqE7HT8](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wFAAyqE7HT8) Isn’t a measuring device being used there to find centers of line segments? So that’d be a ruler not a straightedge, no? Still, no protractor. ETA: [Here’s a thread on Dr. Math](http://mathforum.org/library/drmath/view/60774.html) discussing various solutions where a protractor and/or ruler are disallowed. ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2015, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-third/342885/27 "2015-10-07T12:32:59Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > As long as this thread has been dredged up from the depths, I’ll comment on this. > > It’s _absurdly, ridiculously, totally trivial to divide a circle into thirds._ Too bad there wasn’t room in the margin for your proof. ---
**Author:** ![Your\_Great\_Darsh\_Face](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/ac8455/32.png) [@Your\_Great\_Darsh\_Face](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Your_Great_Darsh_Face)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2015, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-third/342885/28 "2015-10-07T12:39:01Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Isn’t a measuring device being used there to find centers of line segments? So that’d be a ruler not a straightedge, no? Still, no protractor. > > ETA: [Here’s a thread on Dr. Math](http://mathforum.org/library/drmath/view/60774.html) discussing various solutions where a protractor and/or ruler are disallowed. You can find centres of line segments with compasses, the other traditional Euclidean tool. ---
**Author:** ![OneCentStamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/13edae/32.png) [@OneCentStamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OneCentStamp)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2015, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-third/342885/29 "2015-10-07T13:01:23Z")
> [@foobarbazqux](#): > > What the hell. I’m going to dredge this up from long ago! Welcome to the SDMB, **foobarbazqux**! That you even noticed you were bumping an old thread, let alone acknowledged it, puts you in the 99th percentile of new members here. You’ll make a fine addition. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Enola\_Straight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dec6dc/32.png) [@Enola\_Straight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enola_Straight)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2015, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-third/342885/30 "2015-10-07T15:01:44Z")
If _deci-_ is a tenth, i propose _treci-_ or _trici-_ as a third. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Hamster\_King](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8edcca/32.png) [@The\_Hamster\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Hamster_King)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2015, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-third/342885/31 "2015-10-07T15:31:23Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > Without a protractor? You can do it with compass and straightedge. 1. Draw an arbitrary chord AB across the circle. 2. Bisect this chord by drawing two intersecting arcs of equal radii centered at A and B. 3. A line drawn through the intersection points CD will bisect the circle, intersecting the circle at points EF. 4. Bisect line EF using the same technique. This gives you the center of the circle G. 5. Place the compass at point E on the circle with its tip at the center G. Draw an arc that intersects the circle at two points H and I. 6. Draw lines from the center G to points F, H and I on the circle. Trisected! ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2015, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-third/342885/32 "2015-10-07T16:47:16Z")
Not even a straightedge, just a compass. Draw a circle. Keeping the same radius, stick the needle on the circle and draw another circle. Still keeping the same radius, stick the needle on the points where the new circle intersects the original one and draw two more circles. The two new circles intersect the original circle at the first “needle point” and at points distant 120º from it. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2015, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-third/342885/33 "2015-10-07T17:44:43Z")
> [@Your\_Great\_Darsh\_Face](#): > > You can find centres of line segments with compasses, the other traditional Euclidean tool. Yes, of course a compass would be a solution. I was just pointing out that a simple straightedge and marker alone won’t do it. As **Nava** states, though, a compass alone is enough. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2015, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-third/342885/34 "2015-10-07T19:07:37Z")
True story: During the summer vacation of 1963 (when I had just completed 6th grade), I got playing with a compass, and quickly discovered the [seven-overlapping-circles construction](http://www.peterexton.com/peterexton.com/turning_diamonds_files/shapeimage_8.png) (yes, with a compass alone, no straightedge required). (Diagram from [this web page](http://www.peterexton.com/peterexton.com/turning_diamonds.html).) Detailed step-by-step construction is shown on [this page](http://audreythoreau.blogspot.com/2011/08/lesson-two-significance-of-flower-of.html), along with various extended constructions based on that. (This page has a rather metaphysical slant to it.) That construction, plus reading the first few chapters of _One, Two, Three . . . Infinity_ by George Gamow, are what got me interested in math. Prior to that, math was nothing more than grade-school arithmetic, tedious and relatively dull. ---
**Author:** ![JWT\_Kottekoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/3ec8ea/32.png) [@JWT\_Kottekoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JWT_Kottekoe)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2015, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-third/342885/35 "2015-10-08T01:56:18Z")
I second your plug for _One, Two, Three, Infinity …_, by George Gamow. My favorite book of my childhood. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2015, 10:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-third/342885/36 "2015-10-08T10:15:43Z")
> [@bob\_2](#): > > Straightedge and a marker will do it. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wFAAyqE7HT8](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wFAAyqE7HT8) > [@The\_Hamster\_King](#): > > You can do it with compass and straightedge. > > 1. Draw an arbitrary chord AB across the circle. > 2. Bisect this chord by drawing two intersecting arcs of equal radii centered at A and B. > 3. A line drawn through the intersection points CD will bisect the circle, intersecting the circle at points EF. > 4. Bisect line EF using the same technique. This gives you the center of the circle G. > 5. Place the compass at point E on the circle with its tip at the center G. Draw an arc that intersects the circle at two points H and I. > 6. Draw lines from the center G to points F, H and I on the circle. Trisected! OK, we clearly have different definitions of “absurdly, ridiculously, totally trivial” - to me, that doesn’t involve at least 6 steps and two instruments. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2015, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-third/342885/37 "2015-10-08T18:41:12Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > OK, we clearly have different definitions of “absurdly, ridiculously, totally trivial” - to me, that doesn’t involve at least 6 steps and two instruments. I was the one who called the procedure (for trisecting a circle) “absurdly, ridiculously, totally trivial”, but it wasn’t **The Hamster King** ’s absurdly, ridiculously, totally non-trivial procedure I had in mind. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Isilder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/cc9497/32.png) [@Isilder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isilder)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2015, 12:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-third/342885/38 "2015-10-10T12:05:28Z")
> [@foobarbazqux](#): > > But first note that the prefix semi- is special. It’s useful for disambiguating with bi-, but this sort of thing doesn’t exist in English for any other divisor besides 2. Quad and Quart ? I guess you are saying that there are numerous words that have quart at the start, but its not a prefix ? But many prefixes and suffixes are only allowable on certain words… You can’t ask someone for a semi-dollar, neither can I ask someone for a quad-dollar. ---
**Author:** ![Isilder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/cc9497/32.png) [@Isilder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isilder)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2015, 12:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-third/342885/39 "2015-10-10T12:21:35Z")
Trito means one third… however ALSO used to mean the third, as in number 3, but not “times three” , three times larger… ---
**Author:** ![Isilder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/cc9497/32.png) [@Isilder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isilder)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2015, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-third/342885/40 "2015-10-10T12:37:01Z")
Trient was the latin prefix, but it only exists in the word triennally, which is no longer prefix-base, its lost syllables from “trientannually”, due to slurring , so its a word on its own. I see what he was saying about “not a prefix in english” now 🙂 there may be some use of it in some medical name somewhere, but not in common use ( Not in a 120,000 word dictionary). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-third/342885.md?page=1)