A Grammatical Dictionary of Botanical Latin

ter (adv.), ter- (in L. comp.): three times, thrice (= Gk. ‘tris,’ (adv. of treis), ‘thrice, three times;’ see tris-; cf. semel (adv.), ‘once, a single time;’ cf. bis (adv.), ‘twice;’ see tri-: in both L. and Gk. comp., ‘three-;’ see ‘times;’

- non semel sed bis vel ter vel quater, not once but twice or three or four times.

- tercenticeps,-cipitis (adj.B), with 300 heads; tercentipes,-pedis (adj.B), with 300 feet; tercentifolius, with 300 leaves; tercentifidus, divided into 300 divisions.

- tercentenarius,-a,-um (adj.A): consisting of three hundred.

- annus tercentenarius, the 300dth year (after an event), tercentenary year, relating to a 300 year anniversary or its celebration.

- tergeminatus,-a,-um (adj.A), tergeminus,-a,-um (adj.A): thrice-twinned, tergeminate, as when a common petiole bears at its tip two leaflets, between which arise two secondary petioles each bearing at its tip two leaflets.

- frons bis terque furcata (Steph.), frond twice and three times forked.

- flores iis M. parvifloras bis terve minores (F. Mueller), the flowers are two or three smaller than those of M. parviflora.

- corollae glabrae roseae, tubo tres lineas longo, limbo ter longior (F. Mueller), the corollae glabrous, rose-colored, with the tube three lines long, three times longer than the limb.

- caryopsides dilute flavescentes nitidulae latitudine ter quaterve longiores (F. Mueller), the caryopses pale yellowish, somewhat shining, three or four [times] longer than the width.

- 3-jugus, 3-jugatus or trijugatus, terjugatus, terjugus, trijugus, three-paired; “when the petiole of a pinnated leaf bears three pairs of leaflets” (Lindley).

Note: ter is often used indefinitely in compounds, to strengthen the force of the simple word, like Greek ‘tris,’ and the English ‘thrice,’ such as ‘pileus ter felleus,’ ‘a pileus thrice bitter,’ i.e. very bitter;

- Mercurius ter Maximus, thrice-great Mercury, an epithet of the god Mercury (= Hermes); see Trismegistia.

Note: used in the names of organic compounds to denote tripling of a radical or molecule, such as terphenyl (WIII).