Revised as of
7 Jan 2023
Just trip, trip, trippin’ along this triplicate path of triple-patterned stones that all look like triplets in the dark.
Okay, so I’m not a poet. I got punchy tonight as I was finishing up this Word Confusion, and just got to trip, trip, trippin’ along in my head. I’m just hopin’ I don’t get my feet caught in those Celtic triple knots!
Triplet is the easiest. It’s strictly a noun and all about the succession of three things: three notes, three babies born at the same time, three lines of verse that rhyme, three layers, genetics . . . one follows the next.
Triple and triplicate only seem the same. Ain’t I helpful, lol.
Triple is simply three. They can match or not. But it’s three times something. Three players. If you like fantasy novels, you know all about the threefold rule for Wiccans. If you enjoy a stiff scotch, you sometimes want a triple. Hopefully, not too often.
Triplicate is three exact copies. It’s usually in reference to paperwork. Gawd, I’m old enough to remember having to type things up in triplicate. What a pain if you made a mistake. We thought it was so luxurious when colored, colored!, correction fluid came out. Then the correction tape. Oh, yeah, baby . . . that’s what I’m talkin’ about!
Word Confusions . . .
. . . started as my way of dealing with a professional frustration with properly spelled words that were out of context in manuscripts I was editing as well as books I was reviewing. It evolved into a sharing of information with y’all. I’m hoping you’ll share with us words that have been a bête noire for you from either end.
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Triple | Triplet | Triplicate |
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Part of Grammar: | ||
Adjective 1; Noun 1; Predeterminer 1; Verb 2, intransitive & transitive
Plural for the noun: triples Third person present verb: triples |
Noun
Plural for noun: triplets |
Adjective; Noun; Verb, transitive
Plural for the noun: triplicates Third person present verb: triplicates |
Adjective: [Attrib.] Consisting of or involving three parts, things, or people 1
Of three kinds
Three times as great [International law] Tripartite [Of musical time or rhythm] Having three beats in each bar Noun: [triples] A sporting contest in which each side has three players [Bell-ringing; triples] A system of change ringing using seven bells, with three pairs changing places each time [Baseball] A hit which enables the batter to reach third base Another term for trifecta [Bowling] Three strikes in succession [Informal] A drink with three portions of alcohol [US] A hamburger with three patties [Curling] A takeout shot in which three stones are removed from play [Mathematics, computing] A sequence of three elements or 3-tuple Predeterminer: Verb, intransitive: [Baseball] Hit a triple Verb, transitive:
[Baseball] To cause to come into home plate by a triple |
[Usually triplets] One of three children or animals born at the same birth
A set or succession of three similar things
[Physics & Chemistry] An atomic or molecular state characterized by two unpaired electrons with parallel spins
An assembled imitation gem with three parts, the center one giving the color, the top and bottom, sometimes genuine, supplying the wearing qualities [Genetics] A sequence of three nucleotides: a codon in messenger RNA and an anticodon in transfer RNA |
Adjective: [Attrib.] Existing in three copies or examples Noun:
Verb, transitive:
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Examples: | ||
Adjective: George has been assigned a triple murder. Did you see him turn triple somersaults! It takes some skill to tie a necktie in a triple knot. Andy Priaulx, a racing car driver from Guernsey, is a triple World Touring Car Champion (2005–2007). A classic daiquiri includes rum, triple sec, lime juice, and sugar. Use a triple strand of square-sectioned wire, knotted around itself to form a bezel, to create a unique knot-ring. Triple-A baseball has a plus-130-year history. A triple deity is three deities worshipped as one. The Japanese reaction against the Triple Intervention was one of the underlying causes of the subsequent Russo-Japanese War. No, it has to be played in triple time to set that mood. Noun: Pull out one of the triple boxes and check. Gimme a triple whiskey. The shortstop hit a triple to lead off the ninth. An elephant weighs about triple that of a tiger. Are you prepared to play triples? You can hear the triple every night at twelve. “The moon will stage a rare triple show on Wednesday when a blue super moon combines with a total lunar eclipse that will be visible from western North America to eastern Asia, US astronomers say” (Simpson). Tim Horton’s medium-size Triple Triple has 315 calories and 18g of total fat. The most recent MLB unassisted triple play occurred on August 23, 2009, by second baseman Eric Bruntlett of the Philadelphia Phillies against the New York Mets. I heard Hank bowled a triple. I’d like a triple with cheese. Didja hear? Magnus hit a triple bogey on the fourth hole. Triple 6 is 18 while Triple R is RRR. Kevin Martin pulled a triple takeout to win the game. Predeterminer: The money they were asking for was triple the amount we expected. The mine reportedly had an accident rate triple the national average. Verb, intransitive: He tripled into right field. I got a fantastic new job and my salary tripled. Verb, transitive: XYZ Corporation tripled its profits in two months. They tripled the runner home. |
Mary’s having triplets!
Tyler, Max, and Davis Herman from Atlanta, Georgia, are in the Guinness Book of Records for being the world’s tallest triplets. “In a solitude of sea Opal triplets have a colorless, usually somewhat domed, cap cemented to the doublet. The nucleotide triplet that encodes an amino acid is called a codon” (Hardison). |
Adjective: We have triplicate measurements. The legal department wants triplicate contracts. The standard curve was prepared by triplicate evaluations of the protein concentrations. Each group was tested on three mice with triplicate counts of each dilution. When he started in the late 1970s, he recorded deliveries on paper with triplicate carbons. Noun: This letter should be done in triplicate. I hated typing triplicates. “Bills of exchange are usually drawn in duplicate and sometimes in triplicate” (Eaton). So in 1998 he filled out the requisite triplicates, signed on the mandatory dotted lines, and did whatever else he thought necessary to bring in a foreign domestic to tend to her. Verb, transitive: Titles which have been sparingly ordered can be later duplicated or triplicated. The remaining 54% were triplicated loci found on all three chromosomes. As long as a company allows employees to duplicate and triplicate company files on devices that leave the office, it cannot ensure that its information won’t ever get out. |
Derivatives: | ||
Adverb: triply | Adjective: subtriplicate, subtriplicated Noun: subtriplication, triplication |
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History of the Word: | ||
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Mid-17th century from triple, on the pattern of doublet. | Late Middle English from the Latin triplicat- meaning made three, from the verb triplicare, which is from triplex, triplic- meaning threefold.
The early 17th century is when the verb, triplicate, appeared. |
C’mon, get it out of your system, bitch, whine, moan . . . which words are your pet peeves? Also, please note that I try to be as accurate as I can, but mistakes happen or I miss something. Email me if you find errors, so I can fix them . . . and we’ll all benefit!
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Resources for Triple vs Triplet vs Triplicate
Apple Dictionary.com
Collins Dictionary: triple
Dictionary.com: triple, triplet
Eaton, Seymour. Up to Date Business. Gutenberg.org. 6 Feb 2007. Web. n.d. <http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/20531?msg=welcome_stranger>.
Hardison, Ross. Chapter 13. Section IV. Gene Expression and Protein Synthesis. Part Three. B M B 400. Genetic Code. Pennsylvania State. <https://www.bx.psu.edu/~ross/workmg/GeneticCodeCh13.htm>.
Macmillan Dictionary: triple
Morillo, Dr. John. “Guide to Poetics and Prosody.” North Carolina State. <http://www4.ncsu.edu/unity/users/m/morillo/public/prosody1.htm>.
Oxford Dictionary: triplicate
Simpson, Ian. “Heavenly Show to Feature Trifecta of Super Blue Moon, Eclipse.” Science News. Reuters. 29 Jan 2018. Web. n.d. <https://www.reuters.com/article/us-lunar-eclipse-usa/heavenly-show-to-feature-trifecta-of-super-blue-moon-eclipse-idUSKBN1FI16I>.
WikiDiff: triple vs triplicate
Pinterest Photo Credits:
Triquetra Circle Interlaced by AnonMoos (initial SVG conversion of PostScript source by AnonMoos was done by Indolences), and it is in the public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.