Etymology: translation of Medieval Latin tertius ordo; from the partial resemblance to an order of monks or an order of nuns
: a group affiliated with a Roman Catholic religious order and comprising men and women devoted to a special rule of pious living usually without vows
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Rom. Cath. Ch.
1. a branch of a religious order whose members are lay people following the avocations of a secular life.
2. a member of a Third Order who follows its rule in the community under ordinary simple vows.
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third order noun
The lay members affiliated to a monastic order, who continue to live an ordinary life in the world
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Main Entry: ↑third
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third order or Third Order,
an order or rule of the Roman Catholic Church that is made up of lay associates of a monastic order, such as the Dominicans or Carmelites; any order of tertiaries.
Useful english dictionary. 2012.