trio

Pronunciation

• IPA: UK /ˈtriː.əʊ/, US /ˈtriː.oʊ/^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Italian trio, partly through French trio,^[2][3][4][5] formed from tri- (“three”), from Latin trēs (“three”) (see three), on the pattern of duo.^{[2][3][4][5][6]}

Earliest recorded meaning

A musical composition for three voices or instruments: 1724.^[2][3][7][5]

Semantic evolution

A group of three persons is from 1763 in the OED, 1789 in Etymonline,^[7][3] and of things or animals from 1777.^[7][2] The middle section of a minuet or other dance movement is the trio from 1840,^[7] the trio sonata is from 1884,^[7] and in piquet three aces, kings, queens or knaves are a trio from 1891.^[7]

Timeline

• 1724 – a composition for three.^[2][7]
• 1763 – three persons.^[7]
• 1777 – any group of three.^[2][7]
• 1840 – the trio of a minuet.^[7]
• 1891 – trio (piquet).^[7]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A group of three people or things.
2. (music) A composition for three performers, or the group performing it.
3. (music) The contrasting middle section of a minuet, scherzo or march.
4. (piquet) Three cards of the same rank.

Related words

• duo
• three
• triad
• trinity

References

1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
2. ^ a b c d e f Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
3. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press