trey (English)
Where does "trey" come from?
The word 'trey' traces its origins back to the Proto-Indo-European root *tréyes, meaning 'three.' It journeyed through Old French as 'treis' and Anglo-Norman as 'trei' before entering Middle English. While it shares a common ancestor with the word 'three,' it evolved into a distinct term specifically used to denote a value of three in dice, cards, or sports.
Full etymology tree
- trey (English), 'A playing card or die with the rank of three.'
- inherited trey (Middle English), 'affliction, suffering, pain'
- borrowed trei (Anglo-Norman)
- inherited treis (Old French), 'alternative form of trois (“three”)'
- inherited *tréyes (Proto-Indo-European), 'three'
- inherited treis (Old French), 'alternative form of trois (“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)
- inherited *tregô (Proto-Germanic), 'grief, pain'
- inherited *tregō (Proto-West Germanic)
- borrowed trei (Anglo-Norman)
- inherited trey (Middle English), 'affliction, suffering, pain'
Direct ancestors
Updated June 2026
Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris