trivia English · revision 1232

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈtɹɪvi.ə/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|la|trivia]],^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(AHD) the plural of ''trivium'' “a place where three roads meet”,^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(RHWU) [[af|la|tri-|via|t2=way, road]];^(RHWU) ''trivium'' also meant a public place or a gutter.^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) Its sense was shaped by English [[trivial]].^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(RHWU) Merriam-Webster treats it as a New Latin back-formation from Latin ''trivialis'',^(MW Collegiate) and Random House calls it pseudo-Latin taken as the base of ''trivial''.^(RHWU)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Trifles, things of little consequence (1902).^(Barnhart 1995)^(OED 1989)^(RHWU)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The word was popularized by ''Trivia'', a book of short essays by Logan Pearsall Smith first published in 1902 and widely read from 1918;^(Etymonline) Smith took the title from John Gay's poem ''Trivia: or, the Art of Walking the Streets of London'' (1716).^(Etymonline) The sense “trifling facts, bits of unimportant information” is recorded by 1932,^(Etymonline) and a quiz game built on obscure facts made the word popular from the 1960s.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1902 – trifles, things of little importance.^(Barnhart 1995)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1920 – Merriam-Webster's date for the word.^(MW Collegiate)

+ * 1932 – trifling facts or items of information.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1968 – useless information, in allusion to the quiz game.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # Unimportant matters or details; [[trifle|alt=trifles]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # Odd facts of little importance, especially as the subject of a [[quiz]] game.^(MW Collegiate)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[trivial]]

+ * [[triviality]]

+ * [[trivialize]]

+ * [[trivium]]

+ * [[via]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ Wiktionary notes that ''trivia'', a Latin plural, formerly took a plural verb, but most authorities now accept a singular verb, and the name of the game is always singular.^(Wiktionary) Merriam-Webster marks the noun as singular or plural in construction.^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}