🤒 Every other day 🎶 Based on thirds

tertian

1 9.9

A fever or symptoms that come back every other day

adjective
/ˈtɜrʃən/

Specialized

: terciana

The patient exhibited a tertian fever pattern, with symptoms appearing every other day.

Examples

Doctors recognized the pattern of tertian chills and fever typical of some malaria infections.
Cases of tertian malaria were historically common in certain regions.
The patient was diagnosed with a tertian fever, which recurred every other day.
Doctors often diagnose tertian fevers in patients with malaria.
The doctor diagnosed her with a tertian fever that returned every two days.
After several tests, they confirmed that he had contracted a tertian malaria infection.
Patients suffering from tertian malaria experience fever spikes every other day.

Antonyms

continuous

157 3.7

Without a break or gap, for example in a curve

Surface Forms

tertian positive

Morphology

tertian = third (semi-transparent) = terti + an

Conveys recurrence on a 'third' day, but the term is archaic/technical in medical contexts and uses the Latin combining form, so learners may not deduce it readily.

Etymology

Tertian comes from the Latin root tertius, meaning 'third'. It was used for fevers that returned on the 'third' day, so a tertian fever repeats roughly every other day.