Triplet
/ˈtrɪp.lət/noun
A set of three similar or related things, or one of three children born at the same time.
Did you know?*Triplet* is a later English formation from *triple* plus the diminutive suffix *-et*, so its “tiny three” structure is literally a grammatical echo of multiplication by three.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*trei-
“three”
Latin
Latin
triplus
“threefold, triple”
Late Latin
Latin
triplicare
“to make threefold”
Old French
Old French
triplet
“small group of three; a set of three lines or things”
14th Century
English
triplet
“a group of three; later, one of three children born at once”
Modern English
English
triplet
“one of three offspring born in the same birth, or one of three similar items”