tri-

/tɹaɪ/

prefix

Three.

“un- (“1”) + bi- (“2”) + tri- (“3”) + -ium (element suffix) → unbitrium (“element 123”)”

Similar
ter-
OriginLatin tri- ← Ancient Greek τρι- →
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Meanings

tri-1

prefix
  1. Three.

    Synonyms: ter-

  2. chemistryUsed for the digit three to form systematic element names of elements whose existence has been predicted, and which have not yet been given a trivial name.

    un- (“1”) + bi- (“2”) + tri- (“3”) + -ium (element suffix) → unbitrium (“element 123”)

tri-2

prefix
  1. chemistryUsed in combination with a known element name (e.g. 'tri-silicon', 'tri-lead') to designate an unknown element that would reside three periods lower than the known element on a Mendeleev-type periodic table. See Mendeleev's predicted elements.

Synonyms & antonyms

prefixThree.

Similar
ter-

Origin

tri- · prefix

  1. Ancient Greekτρι-“three”
  2. Latintri-“three”
  3. Englishtri-

PIE word *tréyes From Latin tri- (“three”) and Ancient Greek τρι- (tri-, “three”).

More words from Latin, Ancient Greek

Full word history & related roots →

tri- · prefix

  1. Sanskritत्रि“three”
  2. Englishtri-

From Sanskrit त्रि (tri, “three”).

More words from Sanskrit

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Arabic ثُلَاثِيّ
  • ثُلَاثِيّ (ṯulāṯiyy)three
Catalan tri-
  • tri-three
Finnish kolmi-, tri-
  • kolmi-three
  • tri-three
French tri-
  • tri-three
German drei-, tri-
  • drei-three
  • tri-three
Hebrew תְּלַת
  • תְּלַת (tlat)three
Hindi त्रि-
  • त्रि- (tri-)three
Hungarian tri-
  • tri-three
Irish trí-
  • trí-three
Italian tri-
  • tri-three
Malay tri-
  • tri-three
Polish trój-
  • trój-three
Portuguese tri-
  • tri-three
Russian трёх-, тре-
  • трёх- (trjox-)three
  • тре- (tre-)three
  • три- (tri-)three
Spanish tri-
  • tri-three
Swedish tri-
  • tri-three
Cite this entry
APA

tri-. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tri-

MLA

“tri-.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tri-. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “tri-,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tri-.

Source: tri- on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.