"T" Word Origins

tremble

Latin

From Old French trembler, going back to Latin tremulare and the verb tremere, "to shake" — the same root behind tremor and tremendous.

trembler

Origin

From tremble + -er.

trembly

Origin

From tremble + -y.

tremendous

Latin

From Latin tremendus, "fearful, to be trembled at," originally describing something so awesome it made people shake. Over time English softened it from "terrifying" to simply "very great" or "impressive."

tremendously

Origin

Formed from tremendous plus the adverb-forming suffix -ly.

tremor

Latin

From Latin tremor, "a trembling," from the verb tremere, "to shake" — related to tremble and tremendous.

tremulous

Origin

From Latin tremulus, from tremō (“to tremble, shake”) + -ulus. Doublet of tremor and tremble. By surface analysis, tremulate + -ous.

trench

Old French

Borrowed from Old French trenche, from trenchier, "to cut" — the same French root that gave English trench also produced trench coat and, distantly, truncate.

trenchant

Origin

Borrowed into Middle English from Old French trenchant, the present participle of trenchier (“to cut”).

trend

Old English · 1800

From Old English trendan, "to roll about, turn," related to trundle and trindle — the modern sense of a "general direction of change" developed later, in the 19th century.

trending

Origin

Formed from trend plus the -ing suffix.

trendsetting

Origin

From trend + setting.

trendy

Origin

Formed from trend plus the adjective-forming suffix -y.

Trent

Middle English

Inherited from Middle English Trent, from Old English Trēonte; Koch (2006) derives the river name from Proto-Celtic *tri-sent(o)-on-ā-, from the elements *trei (“through”) + *sentus (“path”). Traditionally said to be from Proto-Brythonic elements equivalent to tros (“over”) + hynt (“way”), often taken to mean "the trespasser" The surname in some cases is a shortening of "Tranent", or "Tranant" in Scottish Gaelic, a geographical location in East Lothian. "Tranant" itself is possibly of Brythonic (Celtic) origin.

Trenton

Origin

Originally named "Trent's town" in the 17th century, after a Quaker, William Trent. The town in Nova Scotia is named after the capital of New Jersey.

trepidancy

Origin

From trepidant + -cy.

trepidate

Origin

Either back-formed from, or otherwise related to, trepidation.

trepidation

Latin

Borrowed from Latin trepidatio, from trepidare, "to be agitated or alarmed."

trepidatious

Origin

From, or as if, trepidate + -ious; see trepidation for more.

trepidly

Origin

From trepid + -ly.

tres

Spanish

Borrowed from Spanish tres, "three" — a doublet of English three and trey.

trespass

Old French

From Old French trespas, "a passing across, an offense," from trespasser, "to pass beyond, transgress" — built from tres- ("across") and passer ("to pass").

trespasser

Origin

Formed from trespass plus the agent suffix -er.

tress

Origin

From Middle English tresse, from Old French tresce, of uncertain origin; possibly from Vulgar Latin *trichia, from Ancient Greek τριχία (trikhía, “rope”), from θρίξ (thríx, “hair”). Compare French tresse, Italian treccia.

trestle

Origin

From Middle English trestel, from Old French trestel (“crossbeam”) (French tréteau), from Latin trānstellum, diminutive of trānstrum.

trev

Origin · 1970

From "Trev," a recurring character name in 1970s New Zealand television comedy, which gave rise to a general slang term for an unpretentious working-class bloke.

treviso

Origin

Borrowed from Italian Treviso.

Trey

Latin

From Old French treis, "three," ultimately from Latin tres — a doublet of three and tres, now mostly surviving in card games and basketball slang.

tri

Origin

A shortening of longer words beginning with the "three" element that traces back to the ancient root for the number three.

triad

Latin

From Latin trias, ultimately from Greek trias, "a group of three." The criminal-society sense comes from British colonial officials in Hong Kong naming underground societies after a triangular symbol some of them used.

triage

French

From French triage, "sorting," from trier, "to sort or pick out" — originally used for grading coffee beans before it became standard medical vocabulary.

trial

French

From Anglo-Norman trial, from trier, "to test, sort, pick out" — the same French root behind triage.

triangle

Latin

From Latin triangulum, "three-cornered," from tres ("three") plus angulus ("corner, angle").

triangular

Latin

From Latin triangularis, from triangulum, "triangle."

triangulate

Latin

From Latin triangulum, "triangle," plus the verb-forming suffix -ate — the surveying sense comes from using triangles of known points to calculate an unknown position.

triangulation

Medieval Latin

From Medieval Latin triangulatio, built from triangulum, "triangle," via the verb triangulare.

triathlon

Greek

Formed from tri- ("three") plus the -athlon of decathlon and pentathlon, itself from Greek athlon, "contest."

tribal

Latin · 1630

From Latin tribalis, built on tribus ("tribe"), first recorded in English in the 1630s.

tribe

Latin

From Latin tribus, originally referring to one of the three main divisions of the early Roman people, later broadened to mean any ethnic or social grouping.

Tribeca

Origin

Blend of triangle + below + canal (“Canal Street, New York”).

tribulation

Origin

From Middle English tribulation, from Old French tribulacion, from Late Latin trībulātiō (“distress, trouble, tribulation, affliction”), from Latin tribulāre (“to press, probably also thresh out grain”), from trībulum (“a sledge consisting of a wooden block studded with sharp pieces of flint or with iron teeth, used for threshing grain”), from terēre (“to rub”); see trite.

tribunal

Latin

From Latin tribunal, originally the raised platform where a Roman magistrate sat, itself derived from tribus, "tribe."

tribune

Latin

From Latin tribunus, "tribal leader," from tribus, "tribe" — the Roman office later inspired the broader, figurative sense of someone who speaks for the common people.

tributary

Origin

PIE word *tréyes From Middle English tributarie (“paying tribute”), from Latin tribūtārius, from tribūtum (“tribute”).

tribute

Latin

From Latin tributum, "a thing paid or contributed," from tribuere, "to assign or grant," itself related to tribus, "tribe."

trice

Dutch

From Middle Dutch trisen, "to hoist", related to trise, a pulley. The noun originally meant a single pull or tug on a rope, and from "at one pull" came the sense of a single instant.

triceps

Origin

From Latin triceps (“triple-headed”), from trēs (“three”) + caput (“head”). See there for more details.

triceratops

Greek

From Greek treis ("three") + keras ("horn") + ops ("face") — literally "three-horned face."