trivial

/tˈɹɪviəl/TRIH-vee-uhl

Meaningof the three roads; common

Common meaning: unimportant (from a crossroads of three ways)

trithree
via road, wayLewis & Short, Latin Dictionary (1879), p. 1984 · scan
aladjective ending: relating to

‘three’ + ‘a road, way’ → trivial

Journey through time

Latinvia‘a road, way’
Frenchtrivial
Englishtrivial‘unimportant (from a crossroads of three ways)’ · today

tri- also in: tripod trident trigram tricycle nontrivial

vi also in: envoy convey voyage deviate obvious

Sources & notes

Meaning: “Meaning” is the sense that emerges from the word’s roots; “Common meaning” is today’s everyday sense. Both written by us.

Pronunciation

UK IPA: converted from the US form by rule (unchecked). Respelling: generated.
No UK recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-GB voice.
US IPA: CMUdict (BSD-2), converted to IPA by rule. Respelling: generated.
No US recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-US voice.

Origin: Built on Latin via ‘a road, way’.

Did you know: our wording, based on Lewis & Short, Latin Dictionary (1879), entry via, p. 1984 · dictionary scan; Skeat, Etymological Dictionary (1898), entry TRIVIAL, p. 663 · dictionary scan

Roots

via Latin “a road, way”

Building blocks are an automatic split · open in app