Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “three” come from?

Three comes from Middle English thre, from Old English þrī, from Proto-West Germanic þrīʀ, from Proto-Germanic þrīz, from Proto-Indo-European tréyes, the cardinal number.

three (English): A numerical value after two and before four....

Definitions

  1. A numerical value after two and before four....

Ancestry of “three”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishthrethree
2Old Englishþrī—
3Proto-West Germanicþrīʀthree
4Proto-Germanicþrīzthree
5Proto-Indo-European*tréyes—

Words derived from “three”

  • distribution
  • contribution
  • contribute
  • tribes
  • attribute
  • tribe
  • tribal
  • triangle
  • contributing
  • tribute
  • trivial
  • tribunal
  • distribute
  • triple
  • trench
  • attributable
  • retribution
  • redistribution
  • Trinidad
  • attribution
  • tributary
  • distributor
  • trimester
  • treble
Every word from Proto-Indo-European *tréyes →