LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
numeralthird-declension two-termination numeral, plural only

trēs

trēs (neuter tria)
Classical[ˈtreːs]Ecclesiastical[ˈtrɛs]
№ 533 of the 1,000 commonest wordsMille Verba core vocabulary

Meaning

  1. numeralpluralplural onlytwo terminationthree; 3
    tria Cerberus extulit ora et tres latratus semel ediditCerberus put forth three mouths and issued three barks at once8 CE, Ovidius, Metamorphoses 4.450–451
    nati sunt autem Absalom filii tres et filia una nomine Thamar eleganti formaAnd unto Absalom there were born three sons, and one daughter, whose name was Tamar: she was a woman of a fair countenancec. 347 CE – 420 CE, Hieronymus, Vulgate Samuelis II.14.27

Declension

plural
formmasculinefeminineneuter
nominativetrēstrēstria
accusativetrīs
trēs		trīs
trēs		tria
vocativetrēstrēstria

Phrases from Meissner's Latin Phrase-Book

tribus verbis te volo
a word with you.

trēs (also treis and trīs; acc. tres and tris), trĭa, num. adj. Sanscr. tri-, trajas; Gr. τρεῖς, τρία; Goth. thrija; Germ. drei; Engl. three.
I. Three: duas, tris minas auferunt, Plaut. Bacch. 4, 4, 7: tria corpora, Tris species tam dissimiles, Lucr. 5, 93 sq.: horum trium generum quodvis, Cic. Rep. 1, 26, 42: hoc loquor de tribus his generibus, id. ib. 1, 28, 44: tribus modis, uno ... altero ... tertio ..., Cic. Div. 1, 30, 64: fundos decem et tres reliquit, id. Rosc. Am. 7, 20.—
II. To denote a small number: (sermo) tribus verbis, of three words, Plaut. Mil. 4, 2, 29; so, verbis, id. Trin. 4. 2, 121; cf. Ter. Phorm. 4, 3, 33; Ov. P. 4, 3, 26: ego tribus primis verbis, quid noster Paetus; at ille, etc., at the first three words, Cic. Fam. 9, 19, 1: haec omnia in tribus verbis, Quint. 9, 4, 78: chartis, Cat. 1, 5: suavia, id. 79, 4: cum tribus illa bibit, Mart. 13, 124, 2.

Origins

  1. Proto-Indo-European*tréyes
  2. Proto-Italic*trejes
  3. Proto-Italic*trēs
  4. Latintrēs

From Proto-Italic *trēs, from Proto-Indo-European *tréyes. Cognates include Sanskrit त्रि (trí), Ancient Greek τρεῖς (treîs) and Old English þrēo (English three).

Gallo-Romance
  • Frenchtroisfrom Old French trois
  • Englishtreyfrom Old French trois
  • Franco-Provençaltrês
  • Haitian Creoletwafrom Old French trois
  • Louisiana Creoletròfrom Old French trois
  • Louisiana Creoletrwafrom Old French trois
  • Mauritian Creoletrwafrom Old French trois
  • Réunion Creole Frenchtroifrom Old French trois
  • Réunion Creole Frenchtrwafrom Old French trois
  • Normantraisfrom Old French trois
Occitano-Gallo-Romance
  • Catalantres
  • Occitantres
Ibero-Romance
  • Portuguesetrêsfrom Old Galician-Portuguese tres
  • Spanishtresfrom Old Spanish tres
  • Aragonesetres
  • Asturiantres
  • Leonesetrés
  • Mirandesetrés
  • Falatresfrom Old Galician-Portuguese tres
  • Galiciantresfrom Old Galician-Portuguese tres
  • Ladinotrezfrom Old Spanish tres
Balkan Romance
  • Romaniantrei
  • Aromaniantrei
  • Istro-Romaniantrei
  • Megleno-Romaniantrei
Italo-Romance
  • Italiantre
  • Corsicantrè
  • Neapolitantre
  • Neapolitantréje
  • Siciliantri
Insular Romance
  • Sardiniantres
Dalmatian
  • unknowntra
North Italian
  • Emiliantrî
  • Friuliantrê
  • Ladintrei
  • Liguriantræ
  • Romagnoltri
  • Romagnoltrẹ
  • Romanshtrais
  • Venetantre

Quick answers

What does trēs mean in Latin?
trēs, a numeral, means “three; 3”.
How do you pronounce trēs?
In classical Latin, [ˈtreːs]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [ˈtrɛs].
Where does trēs come from?
Proto-Indo-European *tréyes → Proto-Italic *trejes → Proto-Italic *trēs → Latin trēs.