three sisters
three sisters noun: the combination of maize (corn), pole beans (Phaseolus vulgaris or climbing beans, string beans, etc.), and squash (i.e. pumpkin), especially when planted together in intertwined plantings.
Noun
three sisters pl (plural only)
- The combination of maize (corn), pole beans (Phaseolus vulgaris or climbing beans, string beans, etc.), and squash (i.e. pumpkin), especially when planted together in intertwined plantings.
- One beautiful idea relates to the corn, beans and squashes, all indigenous plants which are called three sisters as well as their life or supporters. The thought is a happy one, for they grow together, and were always important in Indian life.[1892, William M. Beauchamp, “Iroquois Stories”, in The Iroquois Trail, or Footprints of the Six Nations, […] , Fayetteville: H. C. Beauchamp, →LCCN, page 128
- The three sisters work together as companion plants in many ways. Growing wide-spreading pumpkin vine among vertically oriented corn and beans saves space.2012, Gail Damerow, The Perfect Pumpkin: Growing/Cooking/Carving, Storey Publishing, →ISBN, page 56
- The spirits or gods of corn, beans, and squash considered collectively.
- Perhaps the most beautiful conception in the mythology of the Iroquois, is that in relation to the Three Sisters, the Spirit of Corn, the Spirit of Beans, and the Spirit of Squashes.1850 December 14, “The Iroquois Confederation”, in Evert A. Duyckinck, George L. Duyckinck, editors, The Literary World, volume 7, number 202, quoting Lewis H. Morgan, League of the Ho-dé-no-sau-nee...
- They used to tell of three sisters who lived in the gardens, and watched over the corn, beans and squashes. We know that these vegetables live in the same soil; and the Indians said it was because the three sisters loved to be together, and never quarreled.1895, Dorothy Tanner, “The Things of the Garden”, in Legends from the Red Man's Forest, Chicago: A. Flanagan, page 69
- Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see three, sisters.
Proper noun capitalized: Three Sisters
the Three Sisters
- Synonym of Orion's Belt.
- Synonyms:
- Orion's Belt
Synonyms of three sisters
Origin of three sisters
A calque from an Iroquoian language, compare Mohawk áhsen nikontatenò:sen, Oneida áshʌnaɂtekutahnú·tele, and Onondaga ahsę́ naˀdegųdęhnų́·dæ·ˀ. First attested in 1850 in the context of Iroquoian mythology (see quote below). Use in reference to the plants themselves first attested in the 1890s (see also below).
Questions about three sisters
- What does three sisters mean?
- Three sisters means the combination of maize (corn), pole beans (Phaseolus vulgaris or climbing beans, string beans, etc.), and squash (i.e. pumpkin), especially when planted together in intertwined plantings.
- What part of speech is three sisters?
- Three sisters can be a noun or a proper noun.
Words near three sisters in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: three sisters (page history and authors); Three Sisters (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Cite this entry: “three sisters.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/three_sisters. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.