(|)trī+ noun
Etymology: International Scientific Vocabulary tri- + ethanolamine
: a high-boiling viscous soluble hygroscopic basic amino alcohol (HOCH 2 CH 2 ) 3 N that is usually made from ammonia and ethylene oxide, often contains considerable amounts of diethanolamine and ethanolamine, and is used chiefly as a corrosion inhibitor in aqueous solution and in making fatty acid soaps; tris-(2-hydroxyethyl)-amine — not used systematically