# Thirds, anyone? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 30, 2008, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thirds-anyone/435621 "2008-01-30T18:37:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Daithi\_Lacha](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/daithi_lacha/32/5430_2.png) [@Daithi\_Lacha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Daithi_Lacha)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2008, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thirds-anyone/435621/1 "2008-01-30T18:37:45Z")
We have a presentation program at my job that occurs once every three months. It’s refered to as “quarterly,” indicating it happens four times in one year. They’re thinking of changing it to once every four months, meaning it would happen three times per year. What would the word for this three-time occurance be, as opposed to “quarterly?” Is there such a word? (I pitched “trimester,” but that didn’t fly.) ---
**Author:** ![naita](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naita/32/5862_2.png) [@naita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naita)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2008, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thirds-anyone/435621/2 "2008-01-30T18:46:27Z")
[QUOTE=Daithi Lacha] We have a presentation program at my job that occurs once every three months. It’s refered to as “quarterly,” indicating it happens four times in one year. They’re thinking of changing it to once every four months, meaning it would happen three times per year. What would the word for this three-time occurance be, as opposed to “quarterly?” Is there such a word? (I pitched “trimester,” but that didn’t fly.) [/QUOTE] triannually ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2008, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thirds-anyone/435621/3 "2008-01-30T18:54:27Z")
Quadrimestrial. ---
**Author:** ![Scarlett67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scarlett67/32/7387_2.png) [@Scarlett67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scarlett67)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2008, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thirds-anyone/435621/4 "2008-01-30T19:16:36Z")
[QUOTE=naita] triannually [/QUOTE] or triennial ---
**Author:** ![MrSquishy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b9e5f3/32.png) [@MrSquishy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrSquishy)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2008, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thirds-anyone/435621/5 "2008-01-30T19:22:43Z")
[QUOTE=Daithi Lacha] (I pitched “trimester,” but that didn’t fly.) [/QUOTE] That’s good, because a trimester is three months. 😉 **Giles** ’ “quadrimestrial” sounds good to me, but I can’t say for sure if it’s a real word. I think “triannual” would mean once every three years. I think “triennial” is right, but I could have that backwards. I think you’re just going to have to keep it the way it is (quarterly). It’s worth it just so you don’t have to think up a word to describe it. ---
**Author:** ![FatBaldGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecd19e/32.png) [@FatBaldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FatBaldGuy)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2008, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thirds-anyone/435621/6 "2008-01-30T19:24:37Z")
How about “everyfourmonthsly”? ---
**Author:** ![Daithi\_Lacha](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/daithi_lacha/32/5430_2.png) [@Daithi\_Lacha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Daithi_Lacha)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2008, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thirds-anyone/435621/7 "2008-01-30T19:35:41Z")
[QUOTE=naita] triannually [/QUOTE] Ah! I think you’re on to something here. Not to go into the workings of my job (BOH-ring!), but we have owners who earn rewards every two years, and those are referred to as biennial accounts, so that would mean three-times-a-year would have to be triannualy as an adverb, and triannual as the noun. Thanks, everyone, as always. This was a major brain fart for me. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![recondite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/3e96dc/32.png) [@recondite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/recondite)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2008, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thirds-anyone/435621/8 "2008-01-30T22:52:01Z")
The cognate of quarterly is ternary [http://m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary?book=Dictionary&va=ternary](http://m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary?book=Dictionary&va=ternary) Funny thing, one college went from a system of 2 “semesters” per school year, plus a summer “quarter”, to 3 four-month “tri-mesters”. The English majors tried to explain to the board that “semester” did not mean “semi-” or half of anything, but “six months”. Thus their new tri-mesters would be “three months” But of course, none of the board were impressed. None had taken English, as they all were appointed for their “'business skills”, i.e., donations. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2008, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thirds-anyone/435621/9 "2008-01-30T22:54:12Z")
> [@](#): > > That’s good, because a trimester is three months. A trimester is a third of whatever the total period is. A trimester of a pregnancy is three months, since a pregnancy is nine months, but a trimester of a year is four months. Which still doesn’t lead to an adjectival form. > [@](#): > > I think “triannual” would mean once every three years. I think “triennial” is right, but I could have that backwards. Which is a good reason to not use those terms, if possible. Even if you do work out for yourself which one is which, will your audience work it out correctly, too? ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2008, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thirds-anyone/435621/10 "2008-01-30T23:05:38Z")
[QUOTE=Chronos] A trimester is a third of whatever the total period is. A trimester of a pregnancy is three months, since a pregnancy is nine months, but a trimester of a year is four months. Which still doesn’t lead to an adjectival form. [/QUOTE] No. I just checked in my print copy of th Oxford English Dictionary, and: (1) It defines “trimester” as three months (2) It says it comes, via French from the Latin “tri” three and “mensis” month. (3) It says the adjectival form is “trimestrial”, which is consistent with my suggestion “quadrimestrial”.