See also: thri, thrí, þri-, and þrí-

Old English

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Old English numbers (edit)
30
 ←  2 3 4  → 
    Cardinal: þrī
    Ordinal: þridda
    Adverbial: þreowa
    Age: þriwintre
    Multiplier: þrifeald

Alternative forms

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Etymology

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From Proto-Germanic *þrīz, from Proto-Indo-European *tréyes.

Cognate with Old High German drī, French trois, Ancient Greek τρεῖς (treîs), Russian три (tri).

Pronunciation

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Numeral

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þrī

  1. three
    • late 9th century, translation of Bede's Ecclesiastical History
      Þonne is on ēasteweardre Cent myċel ēaland Tenet, þæt is syx hund hīda miċel æfter Angelcynnes ǣhte. Þæt ēalond tōsċēadeð Wantsumo strēam frām þām tōġeþeoddan lande. Sē is þreora furlunga brād: ⁊ on twām stōwum is oferfernes, ⁊ ǣġhwæþer ende līð on sǣ.
      Now to the east of Cent there is the great island of Thanet, which contains six hundred hides by the English manner of reckoning. The island separates the Wantsum Channel from the adjacent land. It is three furlongs wide; and it can be crossed in two places, and at each end flows into the sea.

Usage notes

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  • The distinction between masculine þrī and feminine/neuter þrēo, shown in the declension table below, existed only in the West Saxon dialect. In the other dialects þrēo was used for all three genders.
  • The combining form (i.e., the form used as the first element of a compound) is þri-, with a short i: þrifeald (triple), þrimilċe (May), þrines (trinity), þriwintre (three years old). The word þrītiġ (thirty) is an exception, since it was originally a phrase meaning “three tens” and not a compound. See also twēġen, whose combining form is twi-.

Declension

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Derived terms

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Descendants

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Old Swedish

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Numeral

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þrī

  1. Alternative form of þrīr