tri-

• IPA^(key): /tɹaɪ/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

PIE word
*tréyes

From Latin tri- (“three”) and Ancient Greek τρι- (tri-, “three”).

Latin number prefix

3	Previous:	bi-
	Next:	quadri-

Greek number prefix

3	Previous:	di- duo-
	Next:	tessara- tetra-

tri-

1. Three.

   Synonym: ter-

3. (chemistry) Used for the digit three to form systematic element names of elements whose existence has been predicted, and which have not yet been given a trivial name.

   ‎un- (“1”) + ‎bi- (“2”) + ‎tri- (“3”) + ‎-ium (element suffix) → ‎unbitrium (“element 123”)

• ter-
• -tri-

From Sanskrit त्रि (tri, “three”).

tri-

1. (chemistry) Used in combination with a known element name (e.g. 'tri-silicon', 'tri-lead') to designate an unknown element that would reside three periods lower than the known element on a Mendeleev-type periodic table. See Mendeleev's predicted elements.

• eka-
• dvi-

• Thesaurus:number

• IRT, RTI, TIR, Tir, rit

From Latin tri- (“three”).

tri-

1. tri-

From Latin tri- (“three”) and Ancient Greek τρι- (tri-, “three”).

tri-

1. tri-

• “tri-” in Den Danske Ordbog

• Audio:

  (file)

tri-

1. tri-

Internationalism (see English tri-), ultimately from Latin tri-.

• IPA^(key): /ˈtri-/, [ˈt̪ri-]

tri-

1. (in loanwords or chemistry) tri-

The prefix tri- is mainly used in the names of chemical compounds, e.g. trikloorifluorimetaani or in words that have been loaned from other languages with the tri- prefix already there, e.g. trigonometria, trikolori. For other words, the prefix kolmi-, which is derived from the Finnish word kolme (“three”) is preferred.

From Latin tri- (“three”) and Ancient Greek τρι- (tri-, “three”).

tri-

1. tri-

• trois

• “tri-”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012

Ultimately from Latin tri- and Ancient Greek τρι- (tri-, “three”).

• IPA^(key): [tʁi(ː)]

• Audio (Germany (Berlin)):

  (file)

tri-

1. tri- (three)

• “tri-”, in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache‎^[1] (in German)

From Malay tri-, from tri, from Sanskrit त्रि (tri), from Proto-Indo-Iranian, from Proto-Indo-European *tréyes.

Number prefix

Previous:	dwi-
Next:	catur-

• IPA^(key): /tri/, [t̪ri]

tri-

1. tri-

• IPA^(key): /tri/
• Hyphenation: tri-

tri-

1. tri-

• tre

• TIR

Inherited from Proto-Italic *tri-. Combining form of trēs (“three”, cardinal numeral).

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): [ˈtrɪ]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): [ˈtriː]

tri-

1. (without adverbial sense) three, tri-

• English: tri-

Malay cardinal numbers

<  2	3	4  >
Cardinal : tri-

From tri, from Sanskrit त्रि (tri), from Proto-Indo-Iranian, from Proto-Indo-European *tréyes.

• IPA^(key): /təri/

tri- (Jawi spelling تريـ)

1. tri-

Internationalism (see English tri-), ultimately from Latin tri-.

tri-

1. tri-

Possibly borrowed from French très.

tri-

1. (Rio Grande do Sul, colloquial) superior in quality or degree; super-

   ‎tri- + ‎legal (“cool”) → ‎trilegal (“awesome”)

• tri

• “tri-”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2026
• “tri-”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2026

From Latin tri- (“three”) and Ancient Greek τρι- (tri-, “three”).

tri-

1. tri-

• “tri-”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025

tri-

1. tri-

• arseniktrioxid

• rit