triad

Reading level: hard

Estimated CEFR level: C2 — Proficiency

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

  1. noun the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one and one
  2. noun a set of three similar things considered as a unit
  3. noun three people considered as a unit

Etymology

PIE word *tréyes From Latin triad-, stem of trias (“three, triad”), from Ancient Greek τριάς (triás). By surface analysis, tri- + -ad. Sense 3 (“branch of a Chinese underground criminal society”) is due to the word being applied by the British authorities to underground society in Hong Kong based on the geometry of the Chinese character, derived from a name used by some of those societies, 三合會 /三合会 (sānhéhuì, “Three Harmonies Society”), referring to the union between heaven, earth, and humanity.

In classic literature

Synonyms

three, 3, III, trio, threesome, tierce, leash, troika, trine, trinity, ternary, ternion, triplet, tercet, terzetto, trey, deuce-ace

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