*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of trio

PIE word *tréyes 1715-25; borrowing from Italian trio.

1 source sectionBrief source recordWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 1 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Unnumbered source etymology

Original entry ↗
noun

A group of three people or things. · A group of three musicians. · A piece of music written for three musicians. · A passage in the middle of a minuet, frequently in a different key.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

PIE word *tréyes 1715-25; borrowing from Italian trio.

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

  • Borrowed-form mentiontrioit

This page abbreviates 3 auxiliary source items. The etymology narrative is not shortened. Omission counts are available in the audit fields below; consult the original for complete auxiliary material.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "dercat",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ine-pro"
      },
      "expansion": ""
    },
    {
      "name": "langname",
      "args": {
        "1": "ine-pro"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Indo-European"
    },
    {
      "name": "word",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ine",
        "3": "tréyes",
        "id": ""
      },
      "expansion": ""
    },
    {
      "name": "PIE word",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "tréyes"
      },
      "expansion": "PIE word\n *tréyes"
    },
    {
      "name": "bor",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "it",
        "3": "trio"
      },
      "expansion": "Italian trio"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "*tréyes",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/tréyes"
    ],
    [
      "trio",
      "trio#Italian"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "A group of three people or things.",
        "A group of three musicians.",
        "A piece of music written for three musicians.",
        "A passage in the middle of a minuet, frequently in a different key."
      ],
      "tags": [],
      "recordId": "ef483acab9455c78fa1222df0b9d23516840fc8763af4efa06aca5f401bc4679",
      "rawRecordSha256": "40b93fa45f6da0b304938532930397c9fdb735f5926d6ed38c6c1c613d57debd",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 168980
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 3,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for trio →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-dHJpbw