Tercio

Tercio is a word that means "third" in Spanish. It was used in the past to describe a type of military unit. Imagine playing with your toy soldiers, except instead of having one big group, you split them up into three smaller groups. Each of these smaller groups would be called a tercio.

In the 16th and 17th centuries, Spain was one of the most powerful countries in the world, with a huge empire that included parts of the Americas, Europe, and Asia. To protect this empire, they developed a special kind of fighting force known as the tercios.

These tercios were made up of infantry soldiers armed with long pikes (a type of spear) and muskets (a type of gun). They were known for their organization and discipline, and were feared by other armies because of their effectiveness in battle.

So, in summary, a tercio is a type of military unit made up of soldiers armed with pikes and muskets, that was used by the Spanish in the past to protect their huge empire.