triad
triad Lexical Profile
triad Game Scores & Validity
• noun
A group or set of three closely related people, things, or concepts.
"The classical curriculum focused on the foundational triad of grammar, logic, and rhetoric."
In music, a basic chord of three notes consisting of a given root note together with the third and fifth above it.
"The piano instructor asked her student to practice playing major and minor triads across all twelve keys."
A traditional Chinese secret society, or in modern usage, a transnational organized crime syndicate originating in China, Hong Kong, Macau, or Taiwan.
"Law enforcement agencies across East Asia collaborated to dismantle the smuggling network operated by a notorious triad."
• Rhymes for triad
Word Origin & Etymology
Borrowed in the mid-16th century via French triade or Late Latin trias from Ancient Greek trias (genitive triados), meaning 'a group of three', derived from treis ('three'). The sense referring to a Chinese secret society or criminal syndicate emerged in the early 19th century as a translation of the Chinese name Sanhehui ('Three Harmonies Society'), which referenced the unity of heaven, earth, and humanity.