triad

Noun
US[trahy-ad]/ˈtraɪˌæd/2 syllables
Synonyms: three3IIItriothreesometierceleashtroikatrinetrinityternaryternion

Open English WordNet

Noun (4)triads

  1. the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one and oneSynonyms: three3IIItriothreesometierceleashtroikatrinetrinityternaryterniontriplettercetterzettotreydeuce-aceType of digit, figure
  2. a set of three similar things considered as a unitSynonyms: triotriplettripleType of setKinds triplicity, trilogyExamples Trimurti
  3. three people considered as a unitSynonyms: triothreesometrinityType of gathering, assemblageKinds triumvirate
  4. a three-note major or minor chord; a note and its third and fifth tonesSynonyms: common chordType of chord
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incessantadjective

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Webster's Dictionary (1913)

Tri′ad noun

Origin: L. trias, -adis, Gr. …, …, fr.…, …, 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. Music (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. Chemistry 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’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913), from GCIDE 0.54

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