Dictionary
Find
in
Dictionary
Thesaurus
Translations

Click to move up the list of words
Treviso
trews
trey
TRH
tri-
triable
triacid
Triad
triad
triage
trial
trial and error
trial balance
trial balloon
trial by fire
trial court
trial lawyer
Click to move down the list of words
Print Preview
See pronunciation key
Search for "triad" in all of MSN Encarta
E-mail this entry
Blog about this entry on MSN Spaces
Download the MSN Encarta Right-Click Dictionary

triad

tri·ad [ tr àd, tr əd ] (plural tri·ads)


noun 
Definition:
 
1. set of 3: a group of three people or things

2. music musical chord: a musical chord consisting of three notes, especially a chord made up of a tonic, a third, and a fifth

3. chemistry atom with valence of 3: an atom or chemical group with a valence of three

4. military U.S. strategic missile force: a U.S. strategic missile force made up of bombers, land-based ballistic missiles, and submarine-launched ballistic missiles

5. literature Welsh literary form: a form of composition in ancient Welsh literature in which subjects or statements are arranged in groups of three

[Mid-16th century. Via French triade or late Latin triad-< Greek triad- "three"]

tri·ad·ic [ trī áddik ] adjective
Advertisement

Also on Encarta
Englishtown: Learn English online
Our Partners
Also on MSN
Encarta Message Boards (© Rubberball/Jupiterimages)
Shopping
© 2009 Microsoft