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.

---

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

---

noun

1. a word root of three consonants

Etymology

Origin of triliteral

First recorded in 1745–55; tri- + literal

Example Sentences

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

We can recognise any Semitic dialect by the triliteral character of its roots.

From Chips From A German Workshop - Volume I Essays on the Science of Religion by Müller, F. Max (Friedrich Max)

Macrobius says that it was an admitted axiom among the Heathen, that the triliteral ΙΑΩ was the sacred name of the Supreme God.

From Morals and Dogma of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry by Pike, Albert

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

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

From Rashi by Szold, Adele