Word.ws English Dictionary

threeness

UK/ˈθɹiːnəs/

threeness noun: the state of being three; triunity; trinity.

Noun

threeness (countable and uncountable, plural threenesses)

  1. The state of being three; triunity; trinity.
    • the Cappadocian Fathers provided a way of speaking about the Trinity which would create a balance between threeness and oneness.2009, Diarmaid MacCulloch, A History of Christianity, Penguin Books, page 218
    • [...] This statement focuses more on God's oness than on his threeness.2012, Gilles Emery and Matthew Levering, The Oxford Handbook Of The Trinity
  2. A group of three; a trio.
    Synonyms:
    threesome
  3. The Trinity.
    • Therefore concern yourselves, you philosophers: how God has created this world in six days. For the work of each day is a creation of a spirit in the Holy Threeness, and the seventh day is the rest of the Sabbath of God, in the seventh [...]2010, Jeff Bachl, translated by Michael L. Birkel, Genius of the Transcendent: Mystical Writings of Jakob Boehme, Shambhala, translation of original by Jakob Boehme

Proper noun capitalized: Threeness

Threeness

  1. In Christian belief, the three persons (personae) of the Godhead: Father, Son and Holy Spirit; Trinity.
    • [...] and I might not look at the brightness of His face save through a sheen mirror between me and Him that shields my eyes. So I have often seen the Holy Threeness, Father and Son and Holy Ghost, three in one, and but a little while might I bear the light.1949, Margaret Anne Williams, Glee-wood
    • I'm not sure why God needs three forms — Father, Son, Holy Spirit. I don't know why we just can't say God. ... Jon went on for a while talking about the Trinity, the "Threeness and Oneness." It didn't sound as if he was convinced, though.2001, Brian Payton, Hail Mary Corner, Dundurn

Synonyms of threeness

Forms of threeness

pluralthreenesses

Origin of threeness

From three + -ness. Compare Middle English þrinnesse, þrimnesse, þremnesse, þrumnesse (“trinity”, literally “three-ness”), Old English þrīnes, þrīnness (“trinity”, literally “three-ness”).

From Middle English *Threnesse, Thrumnesse, Thrimnesse, from Old English þrynnes, þrinness, variants of Old English þrȳnes, þrīnes (“Trinity”), equivalent to three + -ness.

Questions about threeness

What does threeness mean?
Threeness means the state of being three; triunity; trinity.
What part of speech is threeness?
Threeness can be a noun or a proper noun.
How do you pronounce threeness?
Threeness is pronounced /ˈθɹiːnəs/ (UK).
What is the plural of threeness?
The plural of threeness is threenesses.

Words near threeness in the dictionary

  1. threelings
  2. threemake
  3. threemasted
  4. threenager
  5. threenagers
  6. threeness
  7. threenesses
  8. threep
  9. threepeat
  10. threepeated
  11. threepeater

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: threeness (page history and authors); Threeness (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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