trigger

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈtɹɪɡə/ (UK); /ˈtɹɪɡɚ/ (US)^[1]

Etymology

It is an alteration of earlier tricker,^[2][3][4] borrowed from Dutch trekker (“trigger”), from trekken (“to pull”) (see trek).^[2][3][5] Compare German Drücker (“trigger”), from drücken, to press.^[3] Tricker remained the usual form until about 1750, perhaps influenced by trick.^[2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

A catch or lever that releases a spring or mechanism: 1621 as tricker, 1660 as trigger in Barnhart;^[2] the OED has 1621.^[6]

Semantic evolution

The catch of a firearm, pressed by the finger to fire it, is from 1622.^[6] Figurative uses are from 1706.^[6] The trigger finger is by 1814,^[3] and trigger-happy by 1942.^[3] The verb, to set off an explosion or cause something to happen, is from 1930.^[2][3] In electronics a trigger is a signal that causes a change of state (1948).^[6] The psychological sense, to cause a strong negative emotional reaction, is attested by 1986.^[3]

Timeline

• 1621 – tricker, a releasing catch.^[2][6]
• 1660 – the spelling trigger.^[2]
• 1814 – trigger finger.^[3]
• 1930 – the verb.^[2][3]
• 1942 – trigger-happy.^[3]
• 1986 – to provoke an emotional reaction.^[3]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A small lever pressed to fire a gun.
2. A device that releases a spring or catch to set a mechanism working.
3. An event or thing that causes something else to happen.

Verb

1. To set off or cause something to happen; to initiate.
2. To fire or set off a device by a trigger.
3. To cause an intense emotional reaction in someone, especially by reminding them of a trauma.

Word family

• triggered
• triggerfish
• trigger-happy
• triggerman
• hair-trigger
• trigger finger
• trigger point

Related words

• trek
• trick
• hair trigger

Usage notes

SOED and the OED record a separate trigger, a brake or device to stop a wheel (late 16th century), from trig, to stop, now dialectal.^[7][6]

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ a b c d e f Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press