Triodes

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. An electronic device made up of three active electrodes that controls current flow through a vacuum or gas
2. A type of valve used in amplifying circuits, consisting of an anode, cathode, and grid arranged in a specific configuration
3. A three-element electronic component utilized in radio and audio applications to amplify signals and regulate electrical current

Etymology: The triode is a valve, and the word's second half is a Greek road. "Ode" comes from Ancient Greek "hodós", meaning "way" or "path", which English borrowed as a combining element in technical terms describing routes or pathways, and "tri-" supplies the three. A triode is therefore, in essence, a device with three electrodes, a grid placed in the path between the cathode and the plate that controls the flow of electrons. The plural "triodes" is simply the form used when speaking of more than one such valve. Its own history follows from the singular, so the plural adds nothing beyond the count.