threesome

Etymology

It is formed from English three + -some,^[2][3][4] the suffix used with numerals for a group of that number.^[3] Merriam-Webster traces it to a Scots form thresum of Middle English, made of thre (“three”) and the northern suffix -sum.^[5] The suffix comes from the pronoun use of Old English sum (“some”), once used with a genitive plural, as in sixa sum (“a group of six”).^[3] Three is þreo.^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Three people together, forming a company: the OED's first quotation is from a 1489 manuscript of J. Barbour's Bruce, a poem composed before 1380.^[2] Merriam-Webster dates the word to the 14th century,^[5] Dictionary.com to 1325–75,^[4] and Etymonline to the 1540s, perhaps the late 14th century.^[3]

Semantic evolution

The word long belonged to Scots and northern English: Wright's dialect dictionary records it from Scotland to Yorkshire, as a noun for a set of three or a reel or game for three, and as an adjective, especially in threesome reel, a dance for three, which Burns used.^[6] The adjective, done by three people together or threefold, is recorded in general English from 1839.^[2][3] In golf, a threesome was from 1901 a match in which one player plays against two who take turns at one ball.^[2][7][5] From 1936 it has also meant a sexual encounter involving three people.^[2][5]

Timeline

• 1489 – three people together (in a manuscript of a poem composed before 1380).^[2]
• 1839 – adjective, done by three; threefold.^[2][3]
• 1901 – a golf match of one player against two.^[2]
• 1936 – a sexual encounter involving three people.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. A group of three people; a trio: The threesome set off for the coast at dawn.^[7][5][2]
2. In golf, a match in which one player, playing his or her own ball, competes against two others who take turns hitting one ball.^[7][5][2]
3. A game or activity for three people.^[7][6]
4. A sexual encounter involving three people.^[5][2]

Adjective

1. Done or taken part in by three people: a threesome reel.^[5][7][6]

Related words

• twosome
• foursome
• three

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
5. ^ a b c d e f g h Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ a b c Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)
7. ^ a b c d e Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins