Where does “three” come from?

three (Scots) comes from Middle English thre, from Old English þrī, from Proto-West Germanic þrīʀ, from Proto-Germanic þrīz, from Proto-Indo-European *tréyes.

three (Scots): three

Definitions

  1. three

Ancestry of “three”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishthrethree
2Old Englishþrīthree
3Proto-West Germanicþrīʀthree
4Proto-Germanicþrīzthree
5Proto-Indo-European*tréyes—
Every word from Proto-Indo-European *tréyes →Every word from Proto-Germanic þrīz →Every word from Proto-West Germanic þrīʀ →