τριάς

Forms

τρῐᾰ́ς (triás) f (genitive τρῐᾰ́δος); third declension^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from Ancient Greek τρι- (tri-) + -άς (-ás), from the stem of τρεῖς (treîs, “three”), with the suffix of collective numerals also seen in πεντάς (pentás, “group of five”).^[1][2][3][4]

Iamblichus derived it from τρέω (tréō, “to fear”), because the Pythagoreans called the triad “piety”.^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found in classical prose for the number three: LSJ cites Ion of Chios and Plato's Phaedo.^[2][4][6]

Semantic evolution

Aristotle discusses the importance of the triad in Pythagorean philosophy.^[2] Theocritus uses it for a set of three, a trio.^[6] Theophrastus uses it for a group of three days, and Philo for the third day.^[2] In metre, Hephaestion uses it for a system of three strophes.^[2]

The Christian sense of the Trinity appears in the 2nd century AD in Clement of Alexandria, and the Code of Justinian speaks of the holy Trinity.^[4][2] Latin trinitas, first in Tertullian, was formed to translate it.^[7] Zonaras writes that in the order of nature it is a sum of units, but in the divine being an existence above number.^[8] An alchemical text of Zosimus calls the mystical heavenly Man the unnamable triad.^[2]

Late Latin borrowed it as trias, the source of triad, first recorded in English in the 1540s.^[1][9] Modern Greek τριάδα (triáda), formed from the accusative, means a group of three and the Holy Trinity with its feast.^[10]

Timeline

• 5th–4th century BC – Plato uses it for the number three.^[2][11]
• 4th century BC – Aristotle discusses its role in Pythagorean philosophy.^[2][11]
• 4th–3rd century BC – Theophrastus uses it for a group of three days, and Theocritus for a trio.^[2][6][11]
• 2nd century AD – Hephaestion uses it for a system of three strophes.^[2][11]
• 2nd–3rd century AD – Clement of Alexandria uses it for the Holy Trinity.^[4][11]
• 4th century AD – Iamblichus derives it from the verb “to fear”.^[5][11]
• 1540s – English borrows triad through Late Latin.^[9]
• Modern Greek – τριάδα (triáda) means a group of three and the Holy Trinity.^[10]

Meanings

Noun

1. The number three, a triad.^[2][6]
2. A set of three, a trio.^[6]
3. A group of three days, and the third day.^[2]
4. (prosody) A system of three strophes.^[2]
5. (Christianity) The Holy Trinity.^[2][4]

Word family

• τριάζω (triázō)
• τριαδικός (triadikós)

Related words

• τρεῖς (treîs)
• Latin trias
• English triad

Usage notes

A different word, τριᾶς, genitive τριᾶντος, named a Sicilian coin worth a third of a litra, and it renders Latin triens.^[12]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; Jones, Henry Stuart (1940), A Greek-English Lexicon, 9th ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
3. ^ Βικιλεξικό, the Greek Wiktionary, https://el.wiktionary.org
4. ^ a b c d e Babiniotis, Georgios (2010), Ετυμολογικό λεξικό της νέας ελληνικής γλώσσας [Etymological Dictionary of Modern Greek], Athens: Κέντρο Λεξικολογίας
5. ^ a b Etygram: ancient etymologies of Greek words, CEPAM, Université Côte d'Azur, http://appsweb-cepam.unice.fr/etygram
6. ^ a b c d e Diggle, James, et al., eds. (2021), The Cambridge Greek Lexicon, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
7. ^ Cancik, Hubert; Schneider, Helmuth, eds. (2002–2010), Brill's New Pauly: Encyclopaedia of the Ancient World, Leiden: Brill
8. ^ Pseudo-Zonaras, Lexicon, ed. Johann August Heinrich Tittmann (1808), Iohannis Zonarae Lexicon, Leipzig: Crusius
9. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
10. ^ a b Ινστιτούτο Νεοελληνικών Σπουδών (Ίδρυμα Μανόλη Τριανταφυλλίδη) (1998), Λεξικό της κοινής νεοελληνικής, Thessaloniki: Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
11. ^ a b c d e f Rodríguez Adrados, Francisco, et al., eds. (1980–), Diccionario Griego-Español, Madrid: CSIC, http://dge.cchs.csic.es/xdge
12. ^ Πάπυρος–Larousse–Britannica, Μέγα Λεξικό της Ελληνικής Γλώσσας, Athens: Πάπυρος