[Ads-l] throuple

Ben Zimmer bgzimmer at GMAIL.COM
Sat Mar 20 18:38:23 UTC 2021


The WordSpy entry has examples back to 2004.

https://wordspy.com/index.php?word=throuple
"It’s the hottest thing in romantic commitment since monogrammed towels.
It’s set Provincetown abuzz. And now it’s got a catchy name: 'throuple,' as
in couple, only consisting of three (usually same-sex) members instead of
two."
--Edith Zimmerman, “City Journal,” Boston Magazine, October 1, 2004


On Sat, Mar 20, 2021 at 2:17 PM Barretts Mail <mail.barretts at gmail.com>
wrote:

> Interesting find!
>
> This redirects to ménage à trois on Wikipedia (
> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M%C3%A9nage_%C3%A0_trois <
> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M%C3%A9nage_%C3%A0_trois>) where it is
> noted as being a contemporary version of the arrangement.
>
> Wikipedia cites the 2016 “Throuple Relationships Vs Threesomes Explained…”
> by Rachel Moss (https://tinyurl.com/zxuu7d8 <https://tinyurl.com/zxuu7d8
> >).
>
> Wiktionary (https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/throuple <
> https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/throuple>) has this and “throupling”, but
> Webster-Merriam and the OED do not have either.
>
> The earliest cites I found on Google are from 2009:
>
> https://tinyurl.com/2v4n9kss <https://tinyurl.com/2v4n9kss>
> Charlotte ‘throuple’ on MTV doc
> 15 Sept 2009
>
> https://tinyurl.com/atsms5sk <https://tinyurl.com/atsms5sk>
> Is This Throuple Destined For Happiness? Or Is a 3-Way Relationship Doomed?
> 16 Sept 2009
>
> Benjamin Barrett (he/his/him)
> Formerly of Seattle, WA
>
> > On 20 Mar 2021, at 10:56, Mark Mandel <markamandel at GMAIL.COM> wrote:
> >
> > Gay Throuple Who Made History Say Being A Three-Person Unit Makes
> Parenting
> > Easier
> >
> >
> https://www.ladbible.com/community/interesting-gay-throuple-who-made-history-say-being-a-three-makes-things-easier-20210319
> >
> > A gay 'throuple' who made history after putting all three of their names
> on
> > their child's birth certificate
> > <
> https://www.ladbible.com/community/interesting-men-become-first-throuple-with-three-dads-put-on-birth-certificate-20210217
> >
> > have
> > said being a three-parent unit makes things easier.
> > Ian Jenkins, Alan Mayfield, and Jeremy Allen Hodges, from San Diego in
> the
> > US, launched and won a legal bid to get all of their name's put on their
> > daughter Pippa's birth certificate back in 2017.
> > The throuple are now proud parents to Pippa, three, and Parker who is
> > almost one.
>
>

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