Etymologically
Log in

trivialis

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 15 October 2026 at 23:32. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Changes in this edit History

Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [trɪ.wiˈaː.lɪs][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [tri.viˈaː.lis][1]

Forms

triviālis (neuter triviāle); third-declension two-termination adjective[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin trivium (“crossroads”) + -ālis.[2][1][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Quintilian speaks of commonplace knowledge.[4][5] Köbler dates him c. 35–95/96 AD.[6]

Semantic evolution

It properly meant belonging to the crossroads or public streets, and so found everywhere, common, commonplace, vulgar, a post-Augustan sense.[4][2] Suetonius uses it of common performers from the circus and of everyday words, and Juvenal of a commonplace poem.[5][7] Arnobius uses it in the sense threefold.[5][7]

In medieval Latin it referred to the trivium, the course of grammar, logic and rhetoric.[8] English trivial is recorded in the 1580s as ordinary and in the 1590s as insignificant.[3]

Timeline

  • c. 35–95/96 AD – Quintilian uses it of common knowledge.[4][6]
  • c. 75–c. 150 AD – Suetonius uses it of common words.[5][6]
  • 297–310 AD – Arnobius uses it as threefold.[5][6]
  • 1580s – English trivial is recorded.[3]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Common, commonplace, vulgar, trivial.[2][1]
  2. Threefold.[5][1]
  3. (Medieval Latin) Of the trivium.[8]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b c Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ a b c d e f Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
  6. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  7. ^ a b Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  8. ^ a b Latham, R. E., D. R. Howlett, R. K. Ashdowne, et al. (1975–2013), Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources, London: British Academy / Oxford University Press