tertium quid

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin tertium quid (“third thing”).

Noun

tertium quid (plural tertium quids)

  1. Something intermediate between two classifications.
  2. A third party in a situation, such as one who comes between two potential romantic partners; a "gooseberry" or "third wheel".
    • 1888, Rudyard Kipling, At the Pit's Mouth:
      Once upon a time there was a Man and his Wife and a Tertium Quid.
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