tre Italian · revision 37576

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=1211|origins=ine-pro *tréyes}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ˈtre/^(Wiktionary)

+ * Italy, Northern: /ˈtrɛ/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''tre''' (invariable; as a noun masculine, in the hours feminine plural)^(GRADIT 2003)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ Old and dialect forms include ''trée'', ''tréi'' and ''tri''.^(GDLI|21) Dante has the old form ''trei'', and Trentino has ''trei'' today.^(Prati 1951|1013)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|la|trēs]], from [[itc-pro|*trēs]], from [[ine-pro|*tréyes]].^(Nocentini 2010)^(GRADIT 2003)^(Wiktionary) The numeral is pan-Romance: [[fr|trois]], [[oc|tres]], [[ca|tres]], [[es|tres]], [[pt|três]], [[sc|tres]] and [[ro|trei]].^(Nocentini 2010)^(REW 1935)

+

+ The numerals belong to the most stable part of the Indo-European vocabulary, and the Latin word matches [[grc|τρεῖς|tr=treîs]], [[lt|trỹs]], [[goh|drī]] and [[en|three]].^(Nocentini 2010)^(Wiktionary)^(de Vaan 2008) Latin declined it, with the neuter [[m|la|tria]].^(de Vaan 2008) From its stem come [[terzo]], [[tredici]] and [[trecento]] as well.^(Nocentini 2010)^(de Vaan 2008)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Nocentini and GRADIT date the first record to 1211.^(Nocentini 2010)^(GRADIT 2003) Among the GDLI's earliest examples are Guido Faba's ''tree'' and Giacomino Pugliese's ''tre persone'' “three persons”.^(GDLI|21)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Besides the exact number, ''tre'' has long stood for a small, indefinite amount, as in ''non sa dire tre parole'' “he can't string three words together”, and for “several” in ''pensarci tre volte''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010) Placed after a noun it serves as an ordinal (''pagina tre''), and as a noun it names the third day of the month, the figure 3, a very poor school mark and, in the feminine plural, three o'clock.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Treccani 2011)

+

+ Proverbs include ''non c'è due senza tre'', “what has happened twice will happen again”, and ''chi fa da sé fa per tre''.^(Treccani 2011)^(Devoto–Oli 2026) The card game ''tressette'', first recorded as ''tre sette'' in 1631, spread from Naples;^(Nocentini 2010) Nocentini explains its name by an old rule under which holding three sevens earned three points.^(Nocentini 2010)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1211 – First record.^(Nocentini 2010)^(GRADIT 2003)

+ * 1300–1313 – Dante uses the old form ''trei''.^(Prati 1951|1013)

+ * 14th century – ''Tremila'' and ''treppiede'' are recorded.^(Nocentini 2010)

+ * 1631 – The card game ''tre sette'' is recorded.^(Nocentini 2010)

+ * 1895 – ''Trequarti'' is recorded.^(Nocentini 2010)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Numeral===

+ # [[m|en|three]]: ''Ho tre fratelli.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A few, a small number: ''te lo spiego in tre parole''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # After a noun, third, number three: ''capitolo tre''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # The number three; the figure 3.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # The third day of the month: ''il tre maggio''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # A very low school mark, far below a pass.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # ''le tre'' (feminine plural): three o'clock, at night or in the afternoon.^(Treccani 2011)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[tremila]]

+ * [[treppiede]]

+ * [[trequarti]]

+ * [[tressette]]

+ * [[trealberi]]

+ * [[ventitré]]

+ * [[trentatré]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[terzo]]

+ * [[tredici]]

+ * [[trecento]]

+ * [[trenta]]

+ * [[la|trēs]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ ''Tre'' causes syntactic doubling of the next consonant in Tuscan and standard pronunciation, which is fixed in spellings such as ''tressette''.^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Treccani 2011) The vowel is closed in the standard language and open in the North.^(Wiktionary)^(GDLI|21)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}