Etymology

trim

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Today it means: To reduce slightly; to cut; especially, to remove excess. Full definition →

Middle English trimen ← Old English trymman ← Proto-West Germanic *trummjan
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The story

  1. Proto-Germanic · derived from*trumaz“firm; strong; sound”
  2. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*trumjaną“to make fast; strengthen”
  3. Proto-West Germanic · inherited from*trummjan
  4. Old English · inherited fromtrymman“to make firm; strengthen”
  5. Middle English · inherited fromtrimen
  6. English todaytrim

From Middle English trimen, trymen, trümen, from Old English trymman (“to make firm; strengthen”), from Proto-West Germanic *trummjan, from Proto-Germanic *trumjaną (“to make fast; strengthen”), from Proto-Germanic *trumaz (“firm; strong; sound”).

Words from the same roots

Proto-Germanic*trumaz all →

drum

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.