triliteral

American  

[trahy-lit-er-uhl] / traɪˈlɪt ər əl /

adjective

1. using or consisting of three letters.

2. (of Semitic roots) consisting of three consonants.

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noun

1. a triliteral word or root.

triliteral British  

/ traɪˈlɪtərəl /

adjective

1. having three letters

2. (of a word root in Semitic languages) consisting of three consonants

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noun

1. a word root of three consonants

Etymology

Origin of triliteral

First recorded in 1745–55; tri- + literal

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

triliteral

For 90 years Britons have adventured out to India and returned a-homing upon steamers bearing the triliteral device, "P. & O."

From Time Magazine Archive

Al-Amsilah, showing the simple conjugation of the triliteral verb; 2.

From Personal Narrative of a Pilgrimage to Al-Madinah & Meccah — Volume 1 by Burton, Richard Francis, Sir

Thus, like them, he distinguishes triliteral, biliteral, and even uniliteral roots; but contrary to them, he maintains that contracted and quiescent verbs are triliteral and not biliteral.

From Rashi by Szold, Adele

The typical Coptic root thus became biliteral rather than triliteral, and the verb, by means of periphrases, developed tenses of remarkable precision.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 9, Slice 1 "Edwardes" to "Ehrenbreitstein" by Various

He was the first to discover the triliteral character of all Hebrew roots.

From Rashi by Szold, Adele