trey (English)

Where does "trey" come from?

The English word 'trey', denoting a three in games or a third child, traces its origin back to the Proto-Indo-European '*tréyes'[1][5]. It moved into English through the Middle English 'trey'[1], which was derived from the Anglo-Norman 'trei' or 'treis'[1]. These forms ultimately stem from the Old French 'treis', meaning 'three'[1]. It exists in the language as a doublet of the words 'three' and 'tres'[1].

Open questions

The reconstructed Proto-Indo-European form '*tréyes' is sometimes speculatively linked to ancient finger naming conventions through reconstructed components like '*tri-sth₂-o-s'. [5]
Historical records contain a conflicting derivation for Middle English 'trey' from the Old English 'trega', which is rooted in Proto-Germanic '*tregô' meaning to be unwilling or vexed. [2] [3] [4]

Full etymology tree

trey (English), 'A playing card or die with the rank of three.'
- inherited trey (Middle English), 'affliction, suffering, pain'
  - inherited treis (Anglo-Norman)
    - inherited treis (Old French), 'alternative form of trois (“three”)'
      - inherited *tréyes (Proto-Indo-European), 'three'
  - inherited trega (Old English), 'pain, grief, vexation, hurt, ill'
    - inherited *tregō (Proto-West Germanic)
      - inherited *tregô (Proto-Germanic), 'grief, pain'
        inherited *dreǵʰ- (Proto-Indo-European)

Ancestors

trey (Middle English)
treis (Old French)

Cognates and doublets

Sources

Updated August 2026

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Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris