Treble
/ˈtrɛb.əl/noun
A musical term for the highest vocal or instrumental range; also meaning threefold or triple in older and related uses.
Did you know?The music term **treble** comes through Old French from Latin **triplex**-related forms meaning “threefold,” and its older sense of “triple” still survives in phrases like *treble damages*.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*tri-
“three”
Latin
Latin
triplus
“threefold, triple”
Old French
Old French
treble
“threefold, triple”
Middle English
English
treble
“threefold; later, the highest part in music”
Modern English
English
treble
“the highest vocal or instrumental range; also threefold in legal or formal use”