Source etymology 1
Original entry ↗An attempt. · An act of tasting or sampling. · A score in rugby league and rugby union, analogous to a touchdown in American football. · A screen, or sieve, for grain.
To attempt; to endeavour. Followed by infinitive. · To separate (precious metal etc.) from the ore by melting; to purify, refine. · To winnow; to sift; to pick out; frequently followed by out. · To extract oil from blubber or fat; to melt down blubber to obtain oil.
From Middle English trien (“to separate out, sift, choose, select, evaluate, try a legal case”), from Anglo-Norman trier, triher, triere (“to divide, separate, choose, select, prove, determine, try a case”), Old French trier (“to choose, pick out or separate from others, sift, cull”), of uncertain origin. Cognate with Occitan triar (“to choose, sort, scrutinise, peel”), Catalan triar (“to pick, choose, decide”). Suggested to be derived from Late Latin *trītāre (“to crush, grind, trample, wear out”), itself derived from Classical Latin trītus (“rubbed, worn down, pulverised”), the past participle of terō, terere (“to rub, wear down, trample”), though this derivation is incompatible with the Occitan form. Additionally, the shift in meaning from "rub, crush, trample" to "pick out, choose, cull" is difficult to explain. One suggestion is that the semantic shift might have originated from a Latin phrase *granum terere ("to tread the corn (in threshing)"; compare Latin trītūra (“rubbing, chafing, friction" also "threshing”)), which has a parallel in the modern French trier le grain (“to sort the grain”). Alternatively, perhaps derived from Vulgar Latin *trīāre, a metathetic alteration of *tīrāre (“to tear off, pull, draw”), whence also Old French tirer (“to draw, pull, pluck, tug, peck at, extract”), Occitan tirar (“to take, draw, retrieve, remove, extract”). Replaced native Middle English cunnen (“to try”) (from Old English cunnian), Middle English fandien (“to try, prove”) (from Old English fandian), and Middle English costnien (“to try, tempt, test”) (from Old English costnian).
Relationships mentioned by the source
These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.
- Inherited-form mentiontrienenm · to separate out, sift, choose, select, evaluate, try a legal case
- Derivation mentiontrierfro · to choose, pick out or separate from others, sift, cull
- Cognate mentiontriaroc · to choose, sort, scrutinise, peel
- Cognate mentiontriarca · to pick, choose, decide
- Cognate mentiontrītūrala · rubbing, chafing, friction" also "threshing
- Derivation mentiontirerfro · to draw, pull, pluck, tug, peck at, extract
- Cognate mentiontiraroc · to take, draw, retrieve, remove, extract
- Cognate mentioncunnenenm · to try
- Cognate mentioncunnianang
- Cognate mentionfandienenm · to try, prove
- Cognate mentionfandianang
- Cognate mentioncostnienenm · to try, tempt, test
- Cognate mentioncostnianang
This page abbreviates 21 auxiliary source items. The etymology narrative is not shortened. Omission counts are available in the audit fields below; consult the original for complete auxiliary material.
Inspect preserved source fields
Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.
{
"templates": [
{
"name": "inh",
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "enm",
"3": "trien",
"t": "to separate out, sift, choose, select, evaluate, try a legal case"
},
"expansion": "Middle English trien (“to separate out, sift, choose, select, evaluate, try a legal case”)"
},
{
"name": "der",
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "xno",
"3": "trier"
},
"expansion": "Anglo-Norman trier"
},
{
"name": "der",
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "fro",
"3": "trier",
"t": "to choose, pick out or separate from others, sift, cull"
},
"expansion": "Old French trier (“to choose, pick out or separate from others, sift, cull”)"
},
{
"name": "unc",
"args": {
"1": "en",
"nocap": "1"
},
"expansion": "uncertain"
},
{
"name": "cog",
"args": {
"1": "oc",
"2": "triar",
"t": "to choose, sort, scrutinise, peel"
},
"expansion": "Occitan triar (“to choose, sort, scrutinise, peel”)"
},
{
"name": "cog",
"args": {
"1": "ca",
"2": "triar",
"t": "to pick, choose, decide"
},
"expansion": "Catalan triar (“to pick, choose, decide”)"
},
{
"name": "der",
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "la-lat",
"3": "*trītō",
"4": "*trītāre",
"t": "to crush, grind, trample, wear out"
},
"expansion": "Late Latin *trītāre (“to crush, grind, trample, wear out”)"
},
{
"name": "cog",
"args": {
"1": "la-cla",
"2": "trītus",
"t": "rubbed, worn down, pulverised"
},
"expansion": "Classical Latin trītus (“rubbed, worn down, pulverised”)"
},
{
"name": "cog",
"args": {
"1": "la",
"2": "trītūra",
"t": "rubbing, chafing, friction\" also \"threshing"
},
"expansion": "Latin trītūra (“rubbing, chafing, friction\" also \"threshing”)"
},
{
"name": "gl",
"args": {
"1": "\"to tread the corn (in threshing)\"; compare Latin <i class=\"Latn mention\" lang=\"la\">trītūra</i> (“rubbing, chafing, friction\" also \"threshing”)"
},
"expansion": "(\"to tread the corn (in threshing)\"; compare Latin trītūra (“rubbing, chafing, friction\" also \"threshing”))"
},
{
"name": "m+",
"args": {
"1": "fr",
"2": "trier le grain",
"t": "to sort the grain"
},
"expansion": "French trier le grain (“to sort the grain”)"
},
{
"name": "der",
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "la-vul",
"3": "*trīāre"
},
"expansion": "Vulgar Latin *trīāre"
},
{
"name": "der",
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "fro",
"3": "tirer",
"t": "to draw, pull, pluck, tug, peck at, extract"
},
"expansion": "Old French tirer (“to draw, pull, pluck, tug, peck at, extract”)"
},
{
"name": "cog",
"args": {
"1": "oc",
"2": "tirar",
"t": "to take, draw, retrieve, remove, extract"
},
"expansion": "Occitan tirar (“to take, draw, retrieve, remove, extract”)"
},
{
"name": "cog",
"args": {
"1": "enm",
"2": "cunnen",
"t": "to try"
},
"expansion": "Middle English cunnen (“to try”)"
},
{
"name": "cog",
"args": {
"1": "ang",
"2": "cunnian"
},
"expansion": "Old English cunnian"
},
{
"name": "cog",
"args": {
"1": "enm",
"2": "fandien",
"t": "to try, prove"
},
"expansion": "Middle English fandien (“to try, prove”)"
},
{
"name": "cog",
"args": {
"1": "ang",
"2": "fandian"
},
"expansion": "Old English fandian"
},
{
"name": "cog",
"args": {
"1": "enm",
"2": "costnien",
"t": "to try, tempt, test"
},
"expansion": "Middle English costnien (“to try, tempt, test”)"
},
{
"name": "cog",
"args": {
"1": "ang",
"2": "costnian"
},
"expansion": "Old English costnian"
}
],
"links": [
[
"trien",
"trien#Middle_English"
],
[
"trier",
"trier#Old_French"
],
[
"triher",
"triher#Old_French"
],
[
"triere",
"triere#Old_French"
],
[
"trier",
"trier#Old_French"
],
[
"triar",
"triar#Occitan"
],
[
"triar",
"triar#Catalan"
],
[
"*trītāre",
"Reconstruction:Latin/trito"
],
[
"trītus",
"tritus#Latin"
],
[
"terō, terere",
"tero#Latin"
],
[
"Latin",
"w:Latin"
],
[
"trītūra",
"tritura#Latin"
],
[
"trier le grain",
"trier le grain#French"
],
[
"*trīāre",
"Reconstruction:Latin/triare"
],
[
"*tīrāre",
"Reconstruction:Latin/tirare"
],
[
"tirer",
"tirer#Old_French"
],
[
"tirar",
"tirar#Occitan"
],
[
"cunnen",
"cunnen#Middle_English"
],
[
"cunnian",
"cunnian#Old_English"
],
[
"fandien",
"fandien#Middle_English"
],
[
"fandian",
"fandian#Old_English"
],
[
"costnien",
"costnien#Middle_English"
],
[
"costnian",
"costnian#Old_English"
]
],
"references": [],
"descendants": [],
"lexical": [
{
"pos": "noun",
"glosses": [
"An attempt.",
"An act of tasting or sampling.",
"A score in rugby league and rugby union, analogous to a touchdown in American football.",
"A screen, or sieve, for grain."
],
"tags": [
"UK",
"dialectal",
"obsolete"
],
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"sourceRecordOrdinal": 192866
},
{
"pos": "verb",
"glosses": [
"To attempt; to endeavour. Followed by infinitive.",
"To separate (precious metal etc.) from the ore by melting; to purify, refine.",
"To winnow; to sift; to pick out; frequently followed by out.",
"To extract oil from blubber or fat; to melt down blubber to obtain oil."
],
"tags": [
"obsolete"
],
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"rawRecordSha256": "5319f21fd8645375426e1a081eb25108d5579345b6f0346f501f5009e7ee2b05",
"sourceRecordOrdinal": 192865
}
],
"omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
"templates": 0,
"links": 0,
"references": 0,
"descendants": 0,
"lexicalRecords": 0,
"lexicalSenses": 21,
"glosses": 0
}
}