Triple (pronounced trip-uhl)
(1) Threefold; consisting of three parts (matching or
not).
(2) Of three kinds; threefold in character or
relationship.
(3) Three times as great; multiplied by three (numbers or
quantities in general).
(4) In international law or international relations, as
triple entente, triple alliance etc, a treaty or some state of arrangement between
three states.
(5) In baseball (also called the three-base hit), a hit which
enables the batter safely to reach third base.
(6) In (ten-pin) bowling, three strikes in succession.
(7) In basketball, a three-point field goal.
(8) In curling, takeout shot in which three stones are
removed from play.
(9) In musical time or rhythm, having three beats in each
bar
(10) As triple crown, in various sporting competitions (Rugby
Union, thoroughbred racing, motor sport et al), a (sometimes informal)
acknowledgement of victory in three specific events (use based on the triple
crown (sometimes as triple tiara) once used for the coronation of the Roman
Catholic Pope).
(11) In internal combustion engines (ICE), an engine with
three pistons or rotors.
(12) One of three; a third (obsolete and the source of
some misunderstandings when found in historic texts).
(13) In programming theory, as Hoare triple, a description
of how the execution of a piece of code changes the state of the computation in
Hoare logic, consisting of (1) a command to be run, (2) a pre-condition that
holds true beforehand, and (3) a post-condition that holds true afterwards.
(14) In mathematics, a sequence of three elements or
3-tuple.
1325-1375: From the Middle English triple (there was also þripell),
from the Old French triple or the Medieval Latin triplare (to triple) from the Latin triplus (threefold, triple), from the primitive Indo-European tréyes.
Triple is a noun, verb & adjective, tripled is a verb, tripling is a
noun & verb, triply is an adverb and triplet is a noun; the noun plural is
triples.
In English, the Latinate multiplier “triple” is but one of
many ways the value three (3) is in some way expressed or applied. “Three” is the highest value, single digit cardinal
number, as an ordinal it’s “third” (the Latinate ordinal is “tertiary”), the adverbial
form is “thrice” (or the more mundane “three times”, as a multiplier the term
is “threefold” (also as “three-fold”), the distributive is “triply”, the
collective “tripartite”, “trio” or “threesome” (ménage à trois a popular variation), the multiuse collective “triplet”,
the Greek or Latinate collective “triad”, the collective prefix (from both
Latin & Ancient Greek (the latter also had “trito”)) was “tri”, the
fractional expression is “third” (the Latinate fractional prefix was “trient-”, the elemental “thrin” & “triplet”
and a period of three years is a triennium. However, while there are weeks, fortnights
& months, there’s no accepted term which express a measure of 21 days although
three months is often described as “a quarter”.
Boss & Co SxSxS 16-bore triple-barrel shotgun #4690.
Originally
an adjective, the noun emerged in the early fifteenth century. The use in baseball dates from 1880 while the
various uses of triple-deck, triple-decker etc (a development of the earlier
double-decker) for cakes, sandwiches, bunk-beds etc all came into use in the
early 1940s. Triple-barrel carburetors
were rare but did exist, Porsche for example using them on their flat
sixes. Rugby Union in 1883 was the first
to use “triple crown”, awarded in the UK to the side which won the three “home
countries” (England, Ireland, Scotland & Wales) matches. That was based on the use of the papal triple
crown (sometimes as triple tiara) then used for the coronation of the Roman
Catholic Pope and was later picked up in US thoroughbred racing: The Kentucky
Derby, the Preakness Stakes, and the Belmont Stakes comprise the Triple Crown which
was first officially awarded in 1919 although the term didn’t become widely
used until the 1930s. In motorsport,
despite the popular perception, it’s never been an official award and many
branches of the sport have their own triple crowns, most barely known outside
of the small circle of their cognoscenti.
The three events which comprised the classic triple crown were (1) the
Indianapolis 500 (first run in 1911), the 24 Hours of Le Mans (first run in
1923) and the Monaco Grand Prix (first run in 1929) and it’s been achieved only
once. That was by Graham Hill
(1929–1975) who completed the set at Le Mans in 1972 and although he and others
have suggested the Formula One World Championship should be included instead of
the Monaco Grand Prix, the original arrangement seems still the accepted triple
crown.
The word
is used also as a modifier as required such as triple-barreled (used with
three-element surnames and in various manufactured items but best known in shotguns),
triple-headed (again widely used but probably still most associated with creatures
from mythology, tripledemic (a term used in public health and epidemiology to
describe the simultaneous outbreak of three epidemics or pandemics), triple
fault (in computing a third (and fatal) error instance in a CPU attempting a
graceful recovery from a double fault, triple jump (an athletic (track &
field) event involving three different types of jump), triple goddess (a female
deity who is either three goddesses in one or one who is triune (both three and
one at the same time) and triple X syndrome (a chromosomal variation
characterized by the presence of an extra X chromosome in each cell of a human
female).
Pope Pius XII (1876-1958; pope 1939-1958) in the papal
triple tiara, at his coronation, 1939.The papal triple tiara is a crown which
has been worn by popes of the Roman Catholic Church since the eighth
century. Traditionally it was worn for
their coronation but no pontiff has been so crowned since Saint Paul VI
(1897-1978; pope 1963-1978) in 1963 and he abandoned its use after the Second
Vatican Council (Vatican II, 1962-1965).
The name tiara refers to the entire headgear and it has used a
three-tiered form since a third crown was added during the Avignon Papacy
(1309–1378). It's also referred to as
the triregnum, triregno or Triple
Crown. In a piece of one- (or perhaps
four-) upmanship, Suleiman I (Süleyman the Magnificent, 1494-1566, Sultan of
the Ottoman Empire 1520-1566) commissioned from Venice a four tier helmet to
show, in addition to the authority claimed by popes, he could add the symbol of
his imperial power. Often put on display
as the centrepiece of Ottoman regalia to impress visitors, there's no
documentary evidence the sultan ever wore the four layer tiara, crowns not part
of the tradition and, fashioned from gold and gemstones, it would anyway have
been extraordinarily heavy.
A representation of the triregnum combined with two
crossed keys of Saint Peter continues to be used as a symbol of the papacy and
appears on papal documents, buildings and insignia. Remarkably, there’s no certainty about what
the three crowns symbolize. Some modern
historians link it to the threefold authority of the pope, (1) universal
pastor, (2) universal ecclesiastical jurisdiction and (3) temporal power. Others, including many biblical scholars,
interpret the three tiers as meaning (1) father of princes and kings, (2) ruler
of the world and (3) vicar of Christ on Earth, a theory lent credence by the
words once used when popes were crowned: Accipe tiaram tribus coronis ornatam, et
scias te esse patrem principum et regum, rectorem orbis in terra vicarium
Salvatoris nostri Jesu Christi, cui est honor et gloria in saecula saeculorum
(Receive the tiara adorned with three crowns and know that thou art father of
princes and kings, ruler of the world, vicar on earth of our Savior Jesus
Christ, to whom is honor and glory for ever and ever).
Lindsay Lohan triple-pack DVD offer.
Documents in the Vatican Archive suggest by 1130 the
papal tiara had been modified to become a conventional (and temporal) symbol of
sovereignty over the Papal States. In
1301 during a dispute with Philip IV (Philip the Fair, 1268–1314, King of
France 1285-1314), Pope Boniface VIII (circa 1230–1303; pope 1294-1303) added a
second layer to represent a pope’s spiritual authority being superior to an
earthly king’s civil domain. It was
Benedict XII (1285–1342; pope 1334-1342 (as the third Avignon pope)) who in
1342 who added the third, said to symbolize the pope’s moral authority over all
civil monarchs, and to reaffirm Avignon’s possession. A changing world and the loss of the Papal
States deprived the triple crown of temporal meaning but the silver tiara with
the three golden crowns remained to represent the three powers of the Supreme
Pontiff: Sacred Order, Jurisdiction and Magisterium.
Not since 1963 has a pope worn the triple crown. Then, the newly-elected Pope Saint Paul VI,
at the end of his coronation, took the tiara from his head and, in what was
said to be a display of humility, placed it on the altar. In a practical expression of that humility,
the tiara was auctioned; the money raised used for missionary work in Africa
although, keeping things in house, the winning bidder was the Archdiocese of
New York. Popes Benedict XVI (1927–2022;
pope 2005-2013, pope emeritus 2013-2022) and Francis (b 1936; pope since 2013)
received tiaras as gifts but neither wore them.
Benedict’s, in a nice ecumenical touch, was made by Bulgarian craftsmen
from the Orthodox Church in Sofia, a gesture in the name of Christian
unity. Benedict would have appreciated
that, having always kept a candle burning in the window to tempt home the
wandering daughter who ran off to Constantinople.
The original (although there was a prototype rendered in
the tradition of functional brutalism) Mercedes-Benz C111 with triple rotor
Wankel engine (1969).
Triple cylinder engines in cars were something of a niche
in the early post war years but of late they’ve achieve a new popularity,
improvements in electronics and combustion chamber designs meaning three
cylinders can now achieve what once required four and even with an equivalent
displacement their efficiency is inherently greater because of the reduction in
internal friction. Obviously compact,
they’ve proved an ideal power-plant in hybrid vehicles. One quirky triple was the Mercedes-Benz C111
which first appeared in 1969 with a 1.8 litre (110 cubic inch) three-rotor
Wankel engine, something then thought to have a great future. It seemed a good idea at the time. The C111, although produced in a small run
and finished in some cases to production car standards was only ever a test
bed, not only for the doomed rotary engine but also developments in suspension design,
ant-lock braking (ABS) and safety engineering.
The gullwing body was actually designed by an Italian-born stylist but
so long had he been in Stuttgart that the lines were a little more Teutonic than
might have emerged from a studio in Turin but at the time it still caused a
stir, even though finished in what the factory called “safety orange”, their
standard high-visibility paint for prototypes and test-beds. Later versions were fitted with a four-rotor
Wankel, a variety of diesels and even a 4.8 litre (292 cubic inch) V8, the
fastest of the rotaries said to be capable of 300 km/h (188 mph) while the V8
version (C111-II-D) in 1976 set a new closed-course record on the Nardò Ring in
Italy, clocking in at 403.978 km/h (251.815 mph).
1980 Laverda Jota 1000 (3-into-2, far left), 1973 Suzuki
GT750 "Water Buffalo" (3-into-4, centre left), 1972 Kawasaki 750 Mach
IV (H2) (3-into-3, centre right) and 2017 MV-Augusta Dragster 800Rc (3-into-3,
far right).
Triple cylinder engines have been a feature of motorcycle
engines for decades and different manufacturers have taken various approaches
to the exhaust systems, an item which exerts upon riders a special fascination. It’s not unusual to fit single systems (3-into-one)
but there are also some which “siamesed” the central header pipe, the derived
pair joining the two outer pipes to duct into two mufflers. Unusually, Suzuki for a while offered 380,
550 & 750 cm3 machines with 3-into-4 systems, the central header again “siamesed” the central header but had the novelty of terminating the two
pipes in separate mufflers thereby emulating the appearance of a four-cylinder
machine. It was a curious arrangement which
Suzuki abandoned and other manufacturers choose not to follow. Suzuki must greatly have valued
symmetry. Somewhat earlier, asymmetry hadn’t
frightened Kawasaki which used pragmatic 3-into-3 engineering for their range (250,
350, 400, 500 & 750 cm3) of charismatic, highly strung
two-strokes, one pipe to the left, two to the right and it was a distinctive
feature which, although sometimes seen on the track, remains rare on the road. In the same era, Triumph on their X75
Hurricane took asymmetry to its logical conclusion, its three pipes arranged in
a radically upswept stack on the right.
It looked dramatic and was much admired but didn’t catch on although there’s
the odd revival, the Italian house MV-Augusta engineering a particularly aggressive
interpretation on their Dragster 800Rc.
1957 DeSoto Adventurer Convertible.
DeSoto's signature triple stacked taillamps were a footnote in Detroit's macropterous era of the late 1950s, the style making possible the distinctive vertical arrangement. Chevrolet would for years make the triple lamps a trademark of their more expensive lines (although, apart from the odd special built for the show circuit, they resisted the temptation to add a third to the Corvette) but they always had them in a less memorable horizontal array. DeSoto's motif was Chrysler's most successful use of the fins but it wasn't enough to save the brand which was crowded out of the mid-priced market, not only by competition from General Motors (GM) and Ford but also by intra-corporate cannibalization, squeezed from below by Dodge and from above by Chrysler's new Newport line. Demand for DeSotos collapsed and that so many were built in 1960 was simply to use up the large inventory of parts exclusive to the brand, the last of the line, heavily discounted, not sold until well into 1961.
