trinket

trinket · noun, verb¹

1. Middle English · inherited fromtrenket
2. English todaytrinket

The origin of the noun is unknown; the word is possibly related to Old French tryncle (“piece of jewellery”). The following have also been suggested: * From Middle English trenket, trynket (“small knife, specifically, a cordwainer’s knife”). * From trick (“plaything, toy; trifle”, noun) or trick (verb). However, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, there is insufficient evidence of any shift of meaning from these words to the current meanings of trinket. The verb is derived from the noun.

trinket · noun²

1. Gaulish · derived from*trincare“to cut off (the head)”
2. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*tréyes“three”
3. Latin · derived fromtri-
4. Vulgar Latin · derived from*trinicāre“to cut into three parts”
5. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*twerḱ-“to carve; to cut off, trim”
6. Latin · derived fromtruncāre
7. Old French · derived fromtrenche
8. Occitan · derived fromtrencque
9. English todaytrinket

PIE word *tréyes From trink (“(UK, dialectal, especially Scotland) channel, watercourse; trench”) + -et (diminutive suffix); compare Scots trink. Trink is possibly derived from Occitan trencque, trenque (Picardy), from Old French trenche, tranche (“trench”) (modern French tranche), from trenchier (“to cut”); further etymology uncertain, possibly: * from Latin truncāre, the present active infinitive of truncō (“to maim or mutilate by cutting off pieces; to truncate”), from truncus (“tree trunk; piece cut off”) (possibly from Proto-Indo-European *twerḱ- (“to carve; to cut off, trim”)) + -ō (suffix forming regular first-conjugation verbs); or * from Vulgar Latin *trinicāre (“to cut into three parts”), from Latin tri- (prefix meaning ‘three’) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *tréyes (“three”)) + duplicāre (“to double by dividing, split in two, tear”); possibly also influenced by Gaulish *trincare (“to cut off (the head)”).

trinket · noun³

1. Welsh · borrowed fromtrànked
2. English todaytrinket

Origin uncertain, possibly: * from trinket (“small, showy ornament; thing of little value”) (see etymology 1); or * borrowed from Welsh trànked.

trinket · noun⁴

1. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*kʷeh₁d-“sharp”
2. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*tréyes“three”
3. Latin · derived fromtriquetrus“three-cornered, triangular”
4. Italian · derived fromtrinchetto“small sail, especially a foresail”
5. French · derived fromtrinquet“foremast; sail attached to a foremast”
6. English todaytrinket

PIE word *tréyes Probably from French trinquet (“foremast; sail attached to a foremast”), from Italian trinchetto (“small sail, especially a foresail”), possibly from Latin triquetrus (“three-cornered, triangular”) (referring to a three-cornered sail), from tri- (prefix meaning ‘three’) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *tréyes (“three”)) + Proto-Indo-European *kʷeh₁d- (“sharp”). Cognates * Catalan trinquet, triquete * French trinquet, trinquette * Italian trinchetto * Portuguese traquete * Spanish trinquete, trinquetilla

trinket · verb⁵

1. Scots · borrowed fromtrinket
2. English todaytrinket

Possibly borrowed from Scots trinket, trincket; further origin unknown, possibly related to: * trinket (“item used in a religious rite (also, a religious rite, belief, etc.) regarded as superfluous or trivial”) (see etymology 1); or * trick (noun) or trick (verb).

Words from the same roots