third classn.adj.adv.
1. n.phr. The class next below the second; esp. of railway carriages; also in an examination list; hence, a place in the third class in an examination.
ΘΚΠ
society > education > educational administration > examination > [noun] > marks > specific marks
accessit1753
honour1774
credit1802
second class1810
firsta1830
first class1830
third class1844
Hons.1850
max1851
second1852
special mention1886
distinction?1890
A1892
E1892
pass mark1894
two-two1895
alpha1898
alpha plus1898
gamma1898
beta1902
delta1911
alpha minus1914
fourth1914
straight A1926
two-one1937
lower second1960
honourable mention2011
society > travel > transport > transport or conveyance in a vehicle > public passenger transport > [noun] > class of passenger accommodation
first class1841
second class1844
third class1844
tourist1936
tourist class1936
business class1962
1844 Punch 7 258/2 Third class. Make up your mind for unmitigated hail, rain, sleet, snow and lightning... Do not expect the luxury of a seat.
1845 Bradshaw's Railway Guide Aug. 5 Fares between London and Brighton..by..third class, 5s.
1912 N.E.D. at Third class Mod. Mr. A. got a third class in History.
2. attributive or adj. Of or belonging to the class next below the second.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > transport > transport or conveyance in a vehicle > public passenger transport > [adjective] > specific class of passenger accommodation
first class1821
second-class1837
third class1839
business class1962
standard class1988
society > communication > correspondence > letter > mail > [noun] > type of
first class1863
second class1863
local1879
third class1891
registered1914
junk mail1921
direct mail1930
mailing shot1936
V-Mail1942
sea-mail1951
hate mail1954
certified mail1955
Mailgram1969
1839 Bradshaw's Railway Time Table 19 Oct. Children under seven years of age..for Second Class Carriages [charged] Third Class price.
1840 Bradshaw's Railway Comp. Third class passengers are conveyed by the 6 a.m. and 8 p.m. Down Trains.
1859 All Year Round 19 Nov. 78 The third~class carriages, as a rule, were the mere seatless and unsheltered cattle-trucks that still linger on the road from London to Greenwich.
1871 M. Collins Marquis & Merchant III. iv. 127 The train was third class.
1886 C. E. Pascoe London of To-day (ed. 3) xix. 186 The economical traveller will find many a worse resting-place than its third-class carriages provide.
1891 Cent. Dict. Third-class matter, in the postal system of the United States, printed matter other than newspapers or periodicals, sent through the mails by the publishers.
1893 R. S. Surtees Soapey Sponge's Sporting Tour (rev. ed.) xv. 76 The introduction of railways, whose worst third-class accommodation is far better than the old coaches' best.
3. quasi-adv. By a third-class conveyance.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > transport > transport or conveyance in a vehicle > public passenger transport > [adverb] > by specific class of accommodation
first class1846
second-class1863
third class1863
first1868
business class1962
1863 G. O. Trevelyan Lett. from Competition Wallah ii, in Macmillan's Mag. July 200/1 Natives almost invariably travel third-class.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1912; most recently modified version published online June 2021).
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n.adj.adv.1839