three

Etymology

PIE word *tréyes 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 trey. Cognate with German drei, Albanian tre, Armenian երեք (erekʿ), Latin trēs, Latvian trīs, Lithuanian trỹs, Greek τρεῖς (treῖs), Old Church Slavonic трьѥ (trĭje), and others.

num

1. A numerical value after two and before four. Represented in Arabic digits as 3; this many dots (•••).
   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”? Apr 7 2003, Michelle Lamoreaux, Robert Lamoreaux, “A Spy is Born Part II”, in Totally Spies!, season 2, episode 1, spoken by Clover (Jennifer Hale as Samantha “Sam” and Andrea Taylor), Marathon Media, via Teletoon
   Why should she care? One…two… Do we shoot on three? Yes on three. Like one, two, three, shoot. Oct 18 2011, Paul Dini, Paul Crocker, Sefton Hill, Batman: Arkham City, spoken by Joker thugs, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, via Rocksteady Studios
2. Describing a set or group with three elements.

noun

1. The digit/figure 3.
2. Anything measuring three units, as length.
   Put all the threes in a separate container.
3. A person who is three years old.
   All the threes will go in Mrs. Smith's class, while I'll take the fours and fives.
4. The playing card featuring three pips.
5. Three o'clock, either a.m. or p.m.
6. (basketball) Abbreviation of three-pointer.