FromProto-Germanic*þrīz, fromProto-Indo-European*tréyes.
Cognate withOld High Germandrī,Frenchtrois,Ancient Greekτρεῖς(treîs),Russianтри(tri).
þrī
- three
- late 9th century,translation ofOrosius’History Against the Pagans
Sċortlīċe iċ hæbbe nū ġesǣd ymb þāþrīe dǣlas ealles þises middanġeardes...- I have now spoken about allthree of this world's continents in brief...
- late 9th century,translation ofBede'sEcclesiastical 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 isþreora 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 isthree furlongs wide; and it can be crossed in two places, and at each end flows into the sea.
- The distinction between masculineþrī and feminine/neuterþrēo, shown in the declension table below, existed only in the West Saxon dialect. In the other dialectsþrēo was used for all three genders.
- The combining form (i.e., the form used as the first element of a compound) isþri-, with a short i:þrifeald(“triple”),þrimilċe(“May”),þrines(“trinity”),þriwintre(“three years old”). The wordþrītiġ(“thirty”) is an exception, since it was originally a phrase meaning “three tens” and not a compound. See alsotwēġen, whose combining form istwi-.
Declension ofþrī — Strong only
þrī
- alternative form ofþrīr
