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sattoshi
6 months ago
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Born into slavery, he rose to the top of France's ...
Troisieme is the third when counting. “Tiers” is the third when taking a fraction.
I can only speak to modern french though.
davidivadavid
6 months ago
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That got me curious, and according to the French Wikipedia, he was originally called "Letiers" (with the same etymological explanation) before he renamed himself "Lethiers" and finally "Lethière". Seems to hold up.
srdgh
6 months ago
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"Tiers" can mean "third" in a sense other than fractions. E.g. Le Tiers-Etat (the Third Estate in the Ancien Regime) and "un tiers" ("a third party").
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I can only speak to modern french though.