trois French · revision 16373

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=late 10th century, Passion de Clermont (tres)|origins=ine-pro *tréyes}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /tʁwa/^(Wiktionary)

+ * IPA: /tʁwɑ/^(Wiktionary)

+ * IPA: [t̪χwa]^(Wiktionary)

+ * IPA (Quebec, informal): [tʁwɔ]^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|fro|treis]], [[inh|la|trēs|t=three]].^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)^(FEW|13/2, 247b)^(Wiktionary) Old French also had an analogical subject form “trei” and the form “troie”, from [[m|la|tria]], the neuter plural, used for “the number three at dice”.^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(TLFi) The Latin word goes back to [[itc-pro|*trēs]] and [[ine-pro|*tréyes]].^(Wiktionary)^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ Cognate with [[ro|trei]], [[it|tre]], [[oc|tres]], [[ca|tres]], [[es|tres]] and [[pt|três]].^(Petit Robert 2007)^(REW 1935) The same root is seen in [[grc|τρεῖς|tr=treîs]], [[sa|त्रयः|tr=trayaḥ]], [[cu|трие|tr=trije]], [[de|drei]] and [[en|three]].^(DHLF 1992)^(Petit Robert 2007)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ It is first found as ''tres'' at the end of the 10th century in the ''Passion'' of Clermont (''tres femmes'' “three women”), as a cardinal number.^(TLFi)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Like the other numbers, it soon served for a small, vague amount: ''trois ou quatre'' (1464, ''Pathelin''), ''deux ou trois heures'' (1547), ''dire en trois mots'' (1637).^(TLFi) As an ordinal meaning “third” it dates from 1602, and Madame de Sévigné's use was still felt as familiar in 1689.^(TLFi)^(GLLF 1989)^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ As a noun, ''le trois'' named a playing card (1571), the face of a die (1694), the third day of the month (1672) and the number three (1674).^(TLFi)^(BHVF) In theatre slang it was the third act (1775), and in skating a figure shaped like a 3 (1906).^(BHVF)^(TLFi) In the 16th century Bèze said that Parisians wrongly pronounced it ''troas'' or ''tras''; the approved pronunciation was then ''trouè''.^(Littré 1873)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * Late 10th century – ''Tres femmes'' in the ''Passion'' of Clermont.^(TLFi)

+ * c. 1175 – The form ''trois'' in Chrétien de Troyes.^(GLLF 1989)^(DHLF 1992)

+ * 1464 – ''Trois ou quatre'' “a few” in the ''Farce de Maître Pathelin''.^(TLFi)

+ * 1571 – ''Le trois'', a playing card.^(TLFi)^(BHVF)

+ * 1602 – Used as an ordinal, “third”.^(TLFi)

+ * 1672 – ''Le trois'', the third day of the month.^(TLFi)

+ * 1775 – ''Le trois'', the third act of a play.^(BHVF)

+ * 1906 – A figure in ice skating.^(TLFi)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Numeral===

+ # [[m|en|three]]: two plus one.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Larousse)

+ # Third, in numbering: ''chapitre trois'', ''Henri III''.^(Larousse)^(Le Robert)

+ # A small, vague amount: ''il n'a pas dit trois mots''.^(Larousse)^(GLLF 1989)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # The number or figure 3.^(Larousse)

+ # A playing [[m|en|card]], or the face of a die or domino, with three marks.^(Larousse)

+ # The third day of the month.^(TLFi)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[troisième]]

+ * [[trois-six]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[tiers]]

+ * [[trente]]

+ * [[treize]]

+ * [[la|trēs]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ The ''s'' is sounded as /z/ before a vowel: ''trois amis''.^(TLFi)^(Littré 1873) ''Règle de trois'' is the rule of three in arithmetic.^(Littré 1873)^(Larousse)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}