Tertium quid

Tertium quid

Tertium quid (Latin for a "third thing") was a term used in the Christological debates of the fourth century to refer to the followers of Apollinaris who spoke of Christ as something neither human nor divine, but a mixture of the two, and therefore a "third thing".

This term is also used in the important Supreme Court case "Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. v. Samara Brothers, Inc." 529 U.S. 205 (2000). In this Lanham Act case, the court, when discussing product packaging vs. product design, referred to the type of trade dress in its earlier "Two Pesos" decision as "some tertium quid" that may be a mutation of product packaging and product design - a "third thing." This is obviously a non-religious usage.


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  • Tertium quid — Ter ti*um quid [L.] A third somewhat; something mediating, or regarded as being, between two diverse or incompatible substances, natures, or positions. [Webster 1913 Suppl.] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • tertium quid — 1724, from L., lit. third something, loan translation of Gk. triton ti (Plato), used in alchemy for unidentified element present in a combination of two known ones …   Etymology dictionary

  • tertium quid — [tʉr′shē əm kwid′] n. [L, lit., third something] something of uncertain or unclassifiable nature, related to, but distinct from, two, usually opposite, things …   English World dictionary

  • tertium quid — noun Etymology: Late Latin, literally, third something; from its failing to fit into a dichotomy Date: circa 1724 1. a middle course or an intermediate component < where there are two systems of law and two orders of courts, there must…be some… …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • tertium quid — ter•ti•um quid [[t]ˈtɜr ʃi əm ˈkwɪd, ˈtɛər ti [/t]] n. 1) fot something related in some way to two things, but distinct from both; something intermediate between two things 2) a third person or thing of indeterminate character • Etymology:… …   From formal English to slang

  • tertium quid — /terr shee euhm kwid /; Lat. /terdd ti oom kwid / something related in some way to two things, but distinct from both; something intermediate between two things. [1715 25; < L, trans. of Gk trítonti some third thing] * * * …   Universalium

  • tertium quid — noun something intermediate between two classifications …   Wiktionary

  • TERTIUM QUID —    Latin term for a mediating alternative between the beginning and end points which is sometimes chosen when people are presented with a dilemma …   Concise dictionary of Religion

  • tertium quid — [ˌtə:ʃɪəm kwɪd, ˌtə:tɪəm] noun an indefinite and undefined third thing related to two definite or known things. Origin C18: from late L., translation of Gk triton ti some third thing …   English new terms dictionary

  • tertium quid — [L.] A third something …   New dictionary of synonyms

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