three

Definition

A numerical value after two and before four. Represented in Arabic digits as 3; this many dots (•••).

Etymology

From Middle English thre, threo, thrie, thri, from Old English þrī, from Proto-West Germanic *þrīʀ, from Proto-Germanic *þrīz, from Proto-Indo-European *tréyes. Doublet of tres and trey. Cognate with German drei, Albanian tre, Armenian երեք (erekʻ), Latin trēs, Latvian trīs, Lithuanian trỹs, Greek τρεῖς (treís), Old Church Slavonic трьѥ (trĭje), and others.

Example Sentences

• "Venters began to count them—one—two—three—four—on up to sixteen."
• "There is a soft-mat seat (which originally had a palm fiber underwebbing) supported by three curved transverse braces."
• "Okay, on three, we open the door and jump on the rope. One, two… Wait, wait! Do we go on three? Or do we go on “go”? Three! Who said anything about “go”?"

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