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What comes after "pair"? Maybe "quad" for four? In cards it's "three/four of a kind" but what about contexts beyond cards (like science)?

For example, in physics there's a "pair-flip model," but what is the extension of this model to flipping three things? I've also tried the internet, see also: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuple

Not to be confused with:

single, duo, trio, quartet, quintet, ...

monad, dyad, triad, tetrad, ...

single, couple, triple, quadruple, ...

single, twin, triplet, quadruplet, ...

Or does "pair" secretly belong in one or more of the categories above? Or is it just an isolated word for, e.g., trousers?

Thanks for helping me solve this mystery!

just a phase
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  • Yes, thanks. It seems pair is a bit of an outlier! – just a phase Jun 12 '23 at 17:53
  • What's the difference between this and a trio, triad, or triple? Is it purely in etymological terms (or rhyming or something like that?) – Stuart F Jun 12 '23 at 19:34
  • I imagine it's etymological, i.e. threesomes are for sets of people, trios are for performing groups/ things that choose to appear together, triplets are for siblings or things that come together, triad I only know in the context of organized crime and mathematics, and then triple is the generic one, which I guess comes from having three times as many (triple the amount)? Anyway, I guess double/couple are redundant, so maybe pair goes there? English is the wild west of languages – just a phase Jun 12 '23 at 23:54
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    In cards, three of a kind is a prial - I added an answer to the dupe question. – Tetsujin Aug 02 '23 at 15:33

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