triad
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triad
- /ˈtɹaɪ.æd/
Rhymes with -aɪæd
Where it comes from
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.
noun triads
-
A grouping of three.
Later artworks showed many animals and gods, some of which were clearly identified with heavenly body. They often included the symbolic triad of Sun, Moon, and Venus.
Similar: threesome, trine, trinity, trio, triplet, troika, triumvirate, leash, tern, ternary, ternion, threeness
-
A romantic or sexual relationship between three individuals; a throuple.
Similar: threesome, trine, trinity, trio, triplet, troika, triumvirate, leash, tern, ternary, ternion, threeness
-
A word of three syllables.
In his general deportment he was pompous and important, affecting a species of florid elocution, which often became ridiculous from his misarranging the triads and quaternions with which he loaded his sentences.
Similar: trisyllable
- A branch of a Chinese underground criminal society, mostly based in Hong Kong. The point — and the symbolism — was that so long as the informer kept his mouth shut he was alive. Harry had seen the result of zjuk carried out by the Tapei Triad on a poor jerk they found in a back street of Tan-shui. They had used broad nail heads that didn’t make such big holes on their way in.
- On a CRT display, a group of three neighbouring phosphor dots, coloured green, red, and blue.
- 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.
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: trinity, trio, threesome, trine, ternary, ternion, three, tierce, tercet, trey, terzetto, triplet, common chord, leash, troika, deuce-ace
Translations
Every language
noun grouping of three
| Español | tríada, triada, tríade |
|---|---|
| Français | triade, trio |
| Deutsch | Triade |
| Italiano | triade |
| Ελληνικά | τριάδα triáda |
| Русский | триа́да triáda |
noun underground society
| 한국어 | 삼합회 samhaphoe |
|---|---|
| 日本語 | 三合会 sangōkai |
| 中文 | 三合會 /三合会 sānhéhuì, 黑社會 /黑社会 hēishèhuì |
| Français | triade |
| Deutsch | Triade |
| Italiano | triade |
| Русский | триа́да triáda |
| Tiếng Việt | Hội Tam Hoàng, xã hội đen |
Talk about this word "triad." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/triad. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. triad. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/triad "triad." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/triad.Cite this
@misc{triad_2026,
title = {triad},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/triad},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
