thrice

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English

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WOTD – 3 September 2018
English numbers (edit)
30
[a], [b] ←  2 3 4  → 
    Cardinal: three
    Ordinal: third
    Latinate ordinal: tertiary
    Reverse order ordinal: third to last, third from last, last but two
    Latinate reverse order ordinal: antepenultimate
    Adverbial: three times, thrice
    Multiplier: threefold
    Latinate multiplier: triple
    Distributive: triply
    Germanic collective: trio, threesome
    Collective of n parts: triplet
    Greek or Latinate collective: triad
    Greek collective prefix: tri-
    Latinate collective prefix: tri-
    Fractional: third
    Elemental: triplet
    Greek prefix: trito-
    Number of musicians: trio, triplet
    Number of years: triennium

Etymology

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PIE word
*tréyes

From Middle English thrice, thries (“three times, thrice; a third time; repeated three times”),[1] from earlier thrī, thrīe (“three times, thrice; a third time”) (from Old English þriwa, þreowa)[2] + -es (suffix forming adverbs of time, place, and manner) (from Old English -es (suffix forming adverbs)).[3] The word is cognate with Old Frisian thria ("thrice"; > Saterland Frisian träie (“thrice”)), Middle Low German drîes (“thrice”), Middle High German drīes, drīs (“thrice”).

Pronunciation

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Adverb

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thrice (not comparable)

  1. (archaic outside India) Three times.
    • 1601, Io[hn] Weeuer [i.e., John Weever], The Mirror of Martyrs, or The Life and Death of that Thrice Valiant Captaine, and Most Godly Martyre Sir Iohn Old-castle Knight Lord Cobham‎[1], [London]: Printed by V[alentine] S[immes] for William Wood, →OCLC:
      Thrice ore the caddow I mine armes outſpred: / Thrice did I fall, before I once could riſe: / Leaning vpon mine elbow for a reſt, / Nodding, I knockt my chin againſt my breſt. // Then ſigh’d, ſlipt downe, and twixt the ſheete and pillow / I nuzled in, joyn’d knees and chin together: / I dream’d I wore a garland of greene willow. / But ſnuffling low, I prickt me with a fether; / So wakt, the bolſter for my backe I choſe, / And yawning thrice, I rub’d mine eyes and roſe.
    • c. 1606 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Macbeth”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene iii], page 132, column 1:
      The weyward Siſters, hand in hand, / Poſters of the Sea and Land, / Thus doe goe, about, about, / Thrice to thine, and thrice to mine, / And thrice againe, to make vp nine, / Peace, the Charme’s wound vp.
    • 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Mark 14:72:
      And the second time the cocke crew : and Peter called to minde the word that Jesus ſaid unto him, Before the cocke crow twiſe, thou ſhalt denie me thriſe. And when he thought thereon, he wept.
    • 1678, John Bunyan, The Pilgrim’s Progress from This World, to That which is to Come: […], London: […] Nath[aniel] Ponder […], →OCLC, page 47:
      How far might I have been on my way by this time! I am made to tread thoſe ſteps thrice over, which I needed not to have trod but once: Yea, now alſo I am like to be benighted, for the day is almoſt ſpent.
    • [1805?], [James] Hook, Once, Twice, Thrice, Sung with Great Applause by Mrs. Bland at Vauxhall Gardens, London: Printed for J. Dale, […], →OCLC, stanza 1, pages 4–5:
      Once, twice, thrice, I met Young Lubin on the Green, / once, twice, thrice, Young Lubin he met me, / the firſt time I beheld the Lad he made a humble bow, / I bluſh'd and hung my ſilly head and felt I don't know how, […]
    • 1826, [Walter Scott], chapter IV, in Woodstock; Or, The Cavalier. […], volume III, Edinburgh: […] [James Ballantyne and Co.] for Archibald Constable and Co.; London: Longman, Rees, Orme, Brown, and Green, →OCLC, page 107:
      Roger Wildrake, also, who had twice or thrice put to his eyes what remained of a kerchief, interested by the lady's evident distress, though unable to comprehend the mysterious cause, hastened to assist the divine in supporting so fair a burthen.
    • 1918, Thomas Malory, “The Sword Excalibur”, in William Patten, compiler, Heroes and Heroines of Chivalry (The Junior Classics; IV), New York, N.Y.: P[eter] F[enelon] Collier & Son Corporation, →OCLC, page 29:
      And then he [Bedivere] threw the sword into the water as far as he might, and there came an arm and a hand above the water, and met it and caught it, and so shook it thrice and brandished. And then the hand vanished away with the sword in the water.
    • 2018 April 24, Richard Palmer, “Royal baby: ‘Thrice the worry now!’: Prince William captures the reality of parenthood”, in The Sunday Express‎[2], London, archived from the original on 15 June 2018:
      Seven hours after giving birth […] Kate [Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge] gave the world a first glimpse of their third child, a new Prince of Cambridge. […] Minutes after the brief photocall, the couple headed home with William [the Duke of Cambridge] emerging with his son in a car seat and holding Kate’s hand. “Thrice the worry now,” a smiling William said, holding up three fingers.

Usage notes

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Unlike once and twice, thrice is somewhat dated in American and British usage, sometimes used for a comical or intentionally archaic effect; three times is the more standard and typical usage. On the other hand, once and twice are almost always preferred over one time and two times respectively. Thrice does however retain some currency in compounds like thrice-monthly, and it is still standard and stylistically neutral in Asian English dialects such as Indian English and Singapore English (where the counterpart three times is rare instead).

Synonyms

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Coordinate terms

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Derived terms

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Translations

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References

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  1. ^ “thrīce, adv.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 13 May 2018.
  2. ^ “thrī(e, adv.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 13 May 2018.
  3. ^ “-es, suf.(1)”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 13 May 2018.

Anagrams

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Middle English

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Adverb

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thrice

  1. Alternative form of thries
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