trump

trump · noun, verb¹

1. Old French · derived fromtriumphe
2. French · derived fromtriomphe“triumph”
3. English todaytrump

Possibly from French triomphe (“triumph”) or Old French triumphe. If so, it is a doublet of triumph and thriambus. Compare German Trumpf.

trump · noun, verb²

1. Frankish · derived from*trumpa“trumpet”
2. Old French · derived fromtrompe“horn, trump, trumpet”
3. Middle English · inherited fromtrumpe
4. English todaytrump

From Middle English trumpe, trompe (“trumpet”), from Old French trompe (“horn, trump, trumpet”), from Frankish *trumpa (“trumpet”), from a common Germanic word of imitative origin. Doublet of tulumba and tromp. Akin to Old High German trumpa, trumba (“horn, trumpet”), Middle Dutch tromme (“drum”), Middle Low German trumme (“drum”). More at trumpet, drum.

trump · noun³

1. French · derived fromjeu-trompe
2. English todaytrump

Ellipsis of Jew's-trump, which may be from French jeu-trompe (literally “toy trumpet”).

Trump · proper noun⁴

1. Middle High German · derived fromtrumbe“drum”
2. German · borrowed fromTrump
3. Middle English · derived fromtrumpe“trumpet”
4. English todayTrump

The surname has two sources. * English (Devon): an occupational name for a trumpeter, from Middle English trumpe (“trumpet”). * German (Bavaria): from German Trump, possibly an occupational name for a drummer, from Middle High German trumbe (“drum”), although the alternative forms Trumpf, Drumpf cannot be derived from this (except by postulating them to be hypercorrections) * The place in Baltimore county was named after settler Simeon Van Trump.

Words from the same roots