Drievoudige

Drievoudige is a Dutch adjective meaning threefold or triple. It describes something that consists of three parts or occurs three times as often as a reference point. In everyday language it is used in phrases such as drievoudige kans (threefold chance) or drievoudige winst (threefold profit), and in more formal writing to express multiplicative scale or magnitude.

Etymology: The term is formed from drie, meaning three, and -voud, a suffix meaning fold or multiplicity. This mirrors similar Dutch compounds such as tweevoudig (twofold) and viervoudig (fourfold), and corresponds to the English threefold.

Usage and inflection: The base form is drievoudig. When used before a noun, especially in definite phrases, the attributive form often takes an -e ending, for example de drievoudige winst or de drievoudige kans. The core meaning remains “threefold,” but the exact form may vary with grammatical context. The word is used across general language, mathematics, finance, statistics, and descriptive writing to indicate a quantity or effect that is three times as large or numerous as a reference point.

Related terms: The family of numerically based adjectives includes tweevoudig (twofold) and viervoudig (fourfold), which are used and inflected in analogous ways. These terms help express multiplicative relationships in a concise, formal manner.

Note: In everyday speech, speakers may opt for phrasing like “drie keer zo veel” (three times as much) instead of a direct drievoudige construct, depending on tone and formality.