tris-

prefix

A variant of tri- used to indicate that the component that does not take the prefix occurs three times in the compound: trisphosphuret of copper is PCu₃; trisbenzeneazoresorcinol, C₆H(OH)₂(N₂Ph)₃.

“trisbenzene-azophenol, C₆H₂(N:NC₆H₅)₃OH”

OriginAncient Greek τρῐ́ς →
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Meanings

prefix
  1. obsoletechemistryA variant of tri- used to indicate that the component that does not take the prefix occurs three times in the compound: trisphosphuret of copper is PCu₃; trisbenzeneazoresorcinol, C₆H(OH)₂(N₂Ph)₃.
  2. chemistryA variant of tri-, used for substitutions of three complex rather than simple units, as in,

    trisbenzene-azophenol, C₆H₂(N:NC₆H₅)₃OH

    1 more example

    tristhio-dimethyl-benzaldehyde, {C₆H₃(CH₃)₂CHS}₃

Origin

  1. Ancient Greekτρῐ́ς“thrice”
  2. Englishtris-

Borrowed from Ancient Greek τρῐ́ς (trĭ́s, “thrice”).

More words from Ancient Greek

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

tris-. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tris-

MLA

“tris-.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tris-. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “tris-,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tris-.

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