Etymologically
Log in

trio

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 17 October 2026 at 13:01. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Changes in this edit History

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.

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