Thirdness

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The quality or state of being third in a sequence or order ; the philosophical notion of mediation or the presence of an intermediary element that enables understanding or relation between two other elements ; a concept in semiotics describing the role of a sign connecting a signifier and a signified
2. The condition of occupying the third position in a series ; a metaphysical principle referring to the process of introduction of a third term to mediate and unify; a term used in communication theory to denote the relational function of a sign linking a subject and an object
3. The attribute of belonging to the number three in order or rank ; an abstract idea emphasizing the role of a third factor as mediator in logic or thought ; a semiotic or linguistic concept focusing on how a third element facilitates interpretation between two components

Etymology: "Thirdness" is about as plain as English compounds get: the adjective "third" with the suffix "-ness," which turns an adjective into a noun for a quality or state. "Third" itself descends from Old English "thridda," and the suffix "-ness" has been used this way since Old English, so the word is built entirely from native parts. The philosophical sense is the one that gives the word its interest. The American philosopher Charles Sanders Peirce used "thirdness" as a technical term in his categories of experience, where firstness is raw quality or feeling, secondness is brute reaction between two things, and thirdness is the mediating element that brings one thing into relation with another. Peirce's semiotics applies the same idea to signs: a sign works as a third term that links a signifier to what it stands for.

Synonyms: tertiary quality, mediacy, triadic relation

Antonyms: firstness, secondness