third degree

third degree
third degree "intense interrogation by police," 1900, probably a reference to Third Degree of master mason in Freemasonry (1772), the conferring of which included an interrogation ceremony. Third degree as a measure of severity of burns (most severe) is attested from 1866, from French (1832); in Amer.Eng., as a definition of the seriousness of a particular type of crime (the least serious type) it is recorded from 1865.

Etymology dictionary. 2014.

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  • third degree — n: the grade given to the third most serious forms of crimes third–degree adj Merriam Webster’s Dictionary of Law. Merriam Webster. 1996. third degree …   Law dictionary

  • Third degree — can refer to: * In police interrogation, originally torture, later colloquially an intensive rough interrogation * The degree of Master Mason in Freemasonry, often written as 3° * In USA law, the least serious of the three classifications of… …   Wikipedia

  • Third Degree — Album par Johnny Winter Sortie 1986 Enregistrement Streetville Recordings Studios, Chicago Durée 43:53 Genre Blues Rock, Blues …   Wikipédia en Français

  • third-degree — adj [always before noun] 1.) third degree burn [usually plural] the most serious kind of burn, that goes right through your skin 2.) third degree murder/burglary/assault etc AmE murder etc that is considered by a court to be the least serious of… …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • third-degree — adj [always before noun] 1.) third degree burn [usually plural] the most serious kind of burn, that goes right through your skin 2.) third degree murder/burglary/assault etc AmE murder etc that is considered by a court to be the least serious of… …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • third degree — third de gree n give sb the third degree informal to ask someone a lot of questions in order to get information from them ▪ I got home after midnight and Dad gave me the third degree …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • third degree — third de gree n give sb the third degree informal to ask someone a lot of questions in order to get information from them ▪ I got home after midnight and Dad gave me the third degree …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • third degree — n. 1. in Freemasonry, the degree of master mason ☆ 2. [orig. ? fig. use of ritual by Freemasons] Informal harsh, grueling treatment and questioning of a prisoner in order to force a confession or exact information: often preceded by the third… …   English World dictionary

  • third degree — If someone is given the third degree, they are put under a great deal of pressure and intimidation to force them to tell the truth about something …   The small dictionary of idiomes

  • third-degree — third′ degree′ v. t. to subject to the third degree • Etymology: 1925–30 …   From formal English to slang

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