triad

Meaning

1. A grouping of three.
2. A word of three syllables.
3. A branch of a Chinese underground criminal society, mostly based in Hong Kong.
4. On a CRT display, a group of three neighbouring phosphor dots, coloured green, red, and blue.
5. A chord consisting of a root tone, the tone two degrees higher, and the tone four degrees higher in a given scale OR any chord with three notes.

Synonyms

trio

triplet

trinity

threesome

triple

ternary

common chord

trine

troika

terzetto

deuce-ace

ternion

3

trivalent element

trivalent radical

threeness

chord

III

leash

tercet

three

tierce

trey

trial

trilogy

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈtɹaɪ.æd/

Etymology

PIE word
*tréyes
From Latin triad-, stem of trias (“three, triad”), from Ancient Greek τριάς (triás).
Sense 3 (“branch of a Chinese underground criminal society”) is due to the word being applied by the British authorities to underground society in Hong Kong based on the geometry of the Chinese character, derived from a name used by some of those societies, 三合會／三合会 (sānhéhuì, “Three Harmonies Society”), referring to the union between heaven, earth, and humanity.