Tres, & hæc tria, plur. num. Numerale nomen. Virg.Three.Trium literarum homo. Plau. A theefe.Tribus verbis.Plaut.Brlefely: in three words.Trédecim. pen. co. Indeclinabile nomen numerale. Thirteene.
Lewis and Short: Latin dictionary
trēs (also treis and trīs; acc. tres and tris), trĭa, num. adj. [Sanscr. tri-, trajas; Gr. trei=s, tri/a; Goth. thrija; Germ. drei; Engl. three]. I.Three: duas, tris minas auferunt, Plaut. Bacch. 4, 4, 7: tria corpora, Tris species tam dissimiles, Lucr. 5, 93 sq.: horum trium generum quodvis, Cic. Rep. 1, 26, 42: hoc loquor de tribus his generibus, id. ib. 1, 28, 44: tribus modis, uno ... altero ... tertio ..., Cic. Div. 1, 30, 64: fundos decem et tres reliquit, id. Rosc. Am. 7, 20.—II. To denote a small number: (sermo) tribus verbis,
of three words
, Plaut. Mil. 4, 2, 29; so, verbis, id. Trin. 4. 2, 121; cf. Ter. Phorm. 4, 3, 33; Ov. P. 4, 3, 26: ego tribus primis verbis, quid noster Paetus; at ille, etc.,
at the first three words
, Cic. Fam. 9, 19, 1: haec omnia in tribus verbis, Quint. 9, 4, 78: chartis, Cat. 1, 5: suavia, id. 79, 4: cum tribus illa bibit, Mart. 13, 124, 2.
