trial English · revision 2809

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1436}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈtraɪ.əl/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|xno|trial]], triel,^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986)^(MWU 2024) a noun formed from Old French trier “to try, pick out, cull”,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) the source of [[try]], from Gallo-Roman *triāre, of unknown origin,^(Etymonline) with the suffix [[-al]].^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The act or process of testing: 1436 in Barnhart.^(Barnhart 1988) Etymonline has an examination before a court, and a trial by arms, from the mid-15th century,^(Etymonline) while the OED's first example of the legal sense is from before 1577.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The general sense “a putting to proof by experiment” is by the late 15th century,^(Etymonline) 1526 in the OED.^(OED 1989) The state of being tried by suffering or temptation, an affliction, is from the 1540s,^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) and in Shakespeare's ''King John'' (1595) a trial is an ordeal.^(Barnhart 1988) ''Trial and error'' is from 1806,^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) and ''trial balloon'' (1826) translates French ballon d'essai, a small balloon sent up to test the winds, though it was first used figuratively in English.^(Etymonline) ''Trial by television'' is from 1960,^(OED 1989) and a motorcycle trial, testing riders' skill, from 1926.^(OED 1989) The verb, “to test a new product”, is from the late 20th century.^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1436 – a test.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * mid-15th century – a judicial examination.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1540s – an affliction.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1595 – an ordeal.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1806 – ''trial and error''.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1826 – ''trial balloon''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1926 – a motorcycle trial.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # The examination of evidence in a [[court]] of law to decide a case, especially the [[guilt]] of an accused person.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # A test of the quality or performance of something; an [[experiment]]: ''clinical trials''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # A trying experience; an [[affliction]] or source of annoyance: ''trials and tribulations''.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # A competition testing skill, as of riders or dogs.^(AHD)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Done or used as a test: ''a trial run''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To test a new product or method.^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[posttrial]]

+ * [[intertrial]]

+ * [[mistrial]]

+ * [[nontrial]]

+ * [[pretrial]]

+ * [[retrial]]

+ * [[clinical trial]]

+ * [[field trial]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[try]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ A separate adjective ''trial'', in grammar denoting three persons or things, as ''dual'' denotes two, is from 1886, from tri- and -al.^(OED 1989)^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}