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Webster 1913 Edition

Triad

Tri′ad

,
Noun.
[L.
trias
,
-adis
, Gr. [GREEK], [GREEK], fr.[GREEK], [GREEK], three: cf. F.
triade
. See
Three
, and cf.
Trias
,
Trio
.]
1.
A union of three; three objects treated as one; a ternary; a trinity;
as, a
triad
of deities
.
2.
(Mus.)
(a)
A chord of three notes.
(b)
The common chord, consisting of a tone with its third and fifth, with or without the octave.
3.
(Chem.)
An element or radical whose valence is three.
Triads of the Welsh bards
,
poetical histories, in which the facts recorded are grouped by threes, three things or circumstances of a kind being mentioned together.
–
Hindu triad
.
See
Trimurti
.

Webster 1828 Edition

Triad

TRI'AD

,
Noun.
[L. trias, from tres, three.] The union of three; three united. In music, the common chord or harmony, consisting of the third, fifth and eighth.

Definition 2024

triad

triad

English

Noun

triad ‎(plural triads)

  1. A grouping of three.
    • 2000, David Pierce, Irish Writing in the Twentieth Century: A Reader (page 625)
      There are, says the Irish triad, 'three fewnesses that are better than plenty: a fewness of fine words; a fewness of cows on grass; a fewness of good friends around good ale'. As an Ulsterman I would agree.
  2. (music) A chord consisting of a root tone, the tone two degrees higher, and the tone four degrees higher in a given scale.
  3. (electronics) on a CRT display, a group of three neighbouring phosphor dots, coloured green, red, and blue.
  4. A branch of a Chinese underground criminal society, mostly based in Hong Kong.

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Etymology

From Latin triad-, stem of trias ‎(“three, triad”), from Ancient Greek τριάς ‎(triás); applied by British authorities to underground society in Hong Kong based on geometry of Chinese character.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /tɹaɪ.æd/

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