throuple

English

Alternative forms

• thruple

Etymology

Blend of three +‎ couple.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈθɹʌpl̩/
• Rhymes: -ʌpəl
• Hyphenation: throup‧le

• Audio (Southern England)

  (file)

Noun

throuple (plural throuples)

1. (informal) Three partners in a romantic or sexual relationship; a ménage à trois.
   • 2021 January 14, Tamar Lapin, “Ashli Babbitt, Air Force vet killed at Capitol, was in a ‘throuple’”, in New York Post‎^[1], retrieved 2021-07-22:

     The Air Force veteran fatally shot by police during last week’s US Capitol riot had been in a “throuple” with her husband and their live-in girlfriend, according to reports.

   • 2023 April 21, Kwame Anthony Appiah, “Our Throuple Fell Apart. What Are the Rules of the Breakup?”, in The New York Times‎^[2], →ISSN:

     Nearly a year ago, I began dating two friends — I’ll call them Rachel and Dave — who were already themselves in a relationship. We all had no experience with polyamory. The throuple ended fairly quickly, with no one being at fault; the other two continued to date but broke up not too long afterward.

Derived terms

• throupling

Translations

three partners

• Catalan: triella (ca) f
• Finnish: kolmiosuhde, kolmoissuhde
• French: trouple (fr) f
• Hungarian: (édes) hármas
• Polish: trójkąt (pl) m, tryplet m
• Portuguese: trisal (pt) m
• Spanish: trieja (es) f