Trit

[by analogy with 'bit']

n. One base-3 digit; the amount of information conveyed by a selection among one of three equally likely outcomes (see also bit). These arise, for example, in the context of a flag that should actually be able to assume *three* values -- such as yes, no, or unknown. Trits are sometimes jokingly called '3-state bits'. A trit may be semi-seriously referred to as 'a bit and a half', although it is linearly equivalent to 1.5849625 bits (that is, log2(3) bits).