- (formal)
a group of three related people or things 三人组合；三位一体；三件一套 the classic triad of the visual arts: sculpture, architecture and painting 视觉艺术的经典三部曲:雕塑、建筑和绘画
- (also Triad)
a Chinese secret organization involved in criminal activity 三合会： 参与犯罪活动的中国秘密组织
Word Originmid 16th cent.: from French triade, or via late Latin from Greek trias, triad-, from treis ‘three’. Sense 2 is a translation of Chinese San Ho Hui, literally ‘ three unite society’, i.e. ‘triple union society’, said to mean ‘the union of Heaven, Earth, and Man’.