trick

Pronunciation

• IPA: /trɪk/^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English trik, borrowed from Old French trique (“deceit, cheating”), an Old North French word,^[2][3][4] from trikier “to deceive”, a variant of Old French trichier “to cheat”,^[2][3] of uncertain origin.^[2][5] The OED refers it to Vulgar Latin *triccāre, from Latin trīcārī “to be evasive”, from trīcae “trifles, nonsense”, as in extricate and intricate;^[2][3] others suggest Middle Dutch trek “a pull; a trick”, a view not accepted by Romance scholars.^[2][3] Trichier also gave treachery.^[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

A thing done to deceive or cheat, a mean ruse: about 1412 in the OED and Barnhart, in Hoccleve's Regement of Princes.^[7][3]

Semantic evolution

A small toy or knick-knack is from the 1550s, now obsolete,^[2] and to play tricks is by the 1550s.^[2] A clever device is from the 1570s,^[2][7] a roguish prank from the 1580s,^[2][7] and one's old tricks, bad habits, by the 1580s.^[2][6] In cards, the cards played in one round are a trick by the 1590s,^[2][8] hence miss a trick (1889, from whist).^[2] A feat of skill to amuse is by about 1600, and the knack of doing something by the 1610s.^[2][7] The verb, to deceive, is from the 1590s (1595 in the OED);^[2][7] trick out, to dress up (about 1500), is perhaps a different word.^[2] Trick or treat at Halloween is from 1947 in the OED.^[7][6] Its senses have been entangled with those of trigger.^[2]

Timeline

• c. 1412 – a deceit.^[7][3]
• 1573 – a clever device.^[7]
• 1590 – a prank.^[7]
• 1590s – the cards in a round; verb, to deceive.^[2]
• c. 1600 – a feat of skill.^[2]
• 1889 – miss a trick.^[2]
• 1947 – trick or treat.^[7]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. Something done to deceive or cheat someone.
2. A joke or prank played on someone.
3. A skilful act done to entertain, such as a magic trick.
4. A quick or clever way of doing something.
5. The cards played in one round of a card game.
6. A habit or mannerism.

Verb

1. To deceive someone, especially into doing something.

Adjective

1. Made for or used in tricks; or, of a joint, liable to fail suddenly.

Word family

• tricker
• trickingly
• overtrick
• undertrick
• tricksy
• trick-or-treat
• trickish
• tricksome

Related words

• treachery
• extricate
• intricate
• trickery
• tricky
• trigger

References

1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b c d e f Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
4. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ a b c Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
8. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press