triad

Etymology

From Latin triad-, stem of trias (“three, triad”), from Ancient Greek τριάς (triás); applied by British authorities to underground society in Hong Kong based on geometry of Chinese character.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /tɹaɪ.æd/

Noun

triad (plural triads)

1. A grouping of three.
   • 2000, David Pierce, Irish Writing in the Twentieth Century: A Reader, page 625:

     There are, says the Irish triad, 'three fewnesses that are better than plenty: a fewness of fine words; a fewness of cows on grass; a fewness of good friends around good ale'. As an Ulsterman I would agree.

2. (music) A chord consisting of a root tone, the tone two degrees higher, and the tone four degrees higher in a given scale.
3. (electronics) on a CRT display, a group of three neighbouring phosphor dots, coloured green, red, and blue.
4. A branch of a Chinese underground criminal society, mostly based in Hong Kong.

Anagrams

• drait, iTard