Etymologically
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threesome

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Pronunciation

  • UK: /ˈθɹiː.səm/[1]
  • US: /ˈθɹi.səm/[1]

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]

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