prefix ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Prefix

1. 1
   Three. morpheme
2. 2
   Used 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. morpheme
3. 3
   Used 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. morpheme

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

Synonyms

All synonyms

ter

Example

More examples

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

Etymology

Etymology 1

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

Etymology 2

From Sanskrit त्रि (tri, “three”).

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.