triad
/ˈtɹaɪ.æd/ noun
Forms triads
- noun A grouping of three.
- noun A romantic or sexual relationship between three individuals; a throuple.
- noun A word of three syllables.
- noun A branch of a Chinese underground criminal society, mostly based in Hong Kong.
- noun (electronics) On a CRT display, a group of three neighbouring phosphor dots, coloured green, red, and blue.
- noun (music) A chord consisting of a root tone, the tone two degrees higher, and the tone four degrees higher in a given scale OR any chord with three notes.
Synonyms
threesome trine trinity trio triplet troika triumvirate leash tern ternary ternion threeness trinary trisyllable three 3 III tierce tercet terzetto trey deuce-ace triple common chord
Etymology
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.
Webster’s 1913
- noun A union of three; three objects treated as one; a ternary; a trinity; as, a triad of deities.
- noun (a) A chord of three notes.
Etymology [L.trias, -adis, Gr. triade. See Three, and cf. Trias, Trio.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “triad”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details