Standard Lemma guide

trigraph

noun · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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  • Received-Pronunciation: /ˈtɹaɪɡɹɑːf/
  • General-American: /ˈtɹaɪɡɹæf/

1

noun

Meaning 1

A specific sequence of three letters, especially one used collectively to represent a single phoneme.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: human-sciences, linguistics, sciences

Examples

  • The letter “i” is pronounced as /aɪ/ when followed by the trigraph “ght”, as in right /raɪt/.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

A three-character sequence used to enter a single conceptual character.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: computing, engineering, mathematics, natural-sciences, physical-sciences, sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *tréyes Proto-Indo-European *tri- Proto-Italic *tri- Latin tri-der. English tri- Proto-Indo-European *gerbh- Proto-Hellenic *grə́phō Ancient Greek γράφω (gráphō) Ancient Greek -γρᾰ́φος (-grắphos)der. English -graph English trigraph From tri- + -graph.

Across languages

Translations

10 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Czech: trigraf — sequence of three letters
  • Finnish: kolmoiskirjain — sequence of three letters
  • Finnish: trigrafi — sequence of three letters
  • French: trigramme — sequence of three letters
  • German: Trigraph — sequence of three letters
  • Hungarian: trigráf — sequence of three letters
  • Polish: trójznak — sequence of three letters
  • Portuguese: trígrafo — sequence of three letters
  • Romanian: trigraf — sequence of three letters
  • Russian: тригра́ф (trigráf) — sequence of three letters