trzy (Polish)
Where does "trzy" come from?
The Polish word 'trzy' traces its roots back to the ancient Proto-Indo-European *tréyes. Over millennia, it evolved through Proto-Balto-Slavic and Proto-Slavic stages before stabilizing into its modern form in Old Polish. This enduring numeral shares a common ancestral link with the English word 'three' and serves as a doublet to the archaic term 'dryja'.
Full etymology tree
- trzy (Polish), 'three'
- inherited trzy (Old Polish), 'three'
- inherited *trьje (Proto-Slavic), 'three'
- inherited *tríjes (Proto-Balto-Slavic), 'three'
- inherited *tréyes (Proto-Indo-European), 'three'
- inherited *tríjes (Proto-Balto-Slavic), 'three'
- inherited *trьje (Proto-Slavic), 'three'
- inherited trzy (Old Polish), 'three'
Cognates and doublets
- dryja (Polish)
Updated July 2026
Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris