trivial

English

Etymology
  • From Latin triviālis (“appropriate to the street-corner, commonplace, vulgar”), from trivium (“place where three roads meet”). Compare trivium, trivia.
  • From the distinction between trivium (“the lower division of the liberal arts; grammar, logic and rhetoric”) and quadrivium (“the higher division of the seven liberal arts in the Middle Ages, composed of geometry, astronomy, arithmetic, and music”).[1]

Pronunciation
  • IPA(key): /ˈtɹɪ.vi.əl/
  • Audio (US)(file)

Adjective

trivial (comparative more trivial, superlative most trivial)

  1. Ignorable; of little significance or value.
    • 1848, Thackeray, William Makepeace, Vanity Fair, Bantam Classics (1997), 16:
      "All which details, I have no doubt, Jones, who reads this book at his Club, will pronounce to be excessively foolish, trivial, twaddling, and ultra-sentimental."
  2. Commonplace, ordinary.
    • De Quincey
      As a scholar, meantime, he was trivial, and incapable of labour.
  3. Concerned with or involving trivia.
  4. (taxonomy) Relating to or designating the name of a species; specific as opposed to generic.
  5. (mathematics) Of, relating to, or being the simplest possible case.
  6. (mathematics) Self-evident.
  7. Pertaining to the trivium.
  8. (philosophy) Indistinguishable in case of truth or falsity.

Synonyms

Antonyms

Derived terms

Translations
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Translations to be checked

Noun

trivial (plural trivials)

  1. (obsolete) Any of the three liberal arts forming the trivium.
    (Can we find and add a quotation of Skelton to this entry?)
    (Can we find and add a quotation of Wood to this entry?)

References
  1. Wikipedia: Trivium

Part or all of this entry has been imported from the 1913 edition of Webster’s Dictionary, which is now free of copyright and hence in the public domain. The imported definitions may be significantly out of date, and any more recent senses may be completely missing.
(See the entry for trivial in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.)

Anagrams

French

Pronunciation

Adjective

trivial (feminine singular triviale, masculine plural triviaux, feminine plural triviales)

  1. trivial (common, easy, obvious)
  2. ordinary, mundane
  3. colloquial (language)

Further reading

Anagrams

German

Etymology

Borrowed from French trivial, from Latin triviālis (“common”).

Pronunciation
  • IPA(key): /tʁiviˈaːl/
  • Audio(file)
  • Rhymes: -aːl

Adjective

trivial (comparative trivialer, superlative am trivialsten)

  1. trivial (common, easy, obvious)

Declension
Positive forms of trivial
number & gender singular plural
masculine feminine neuter all genders
predicative er ist trivial sie ist trivial es ist trivial sie sind trivial
strong declension
(without article)		 nominative trivialer triviale triviales triviale
genitive trivialen trivialer trivialen trivialer
dative trivialem trivialer trivialem trivialen
accusative trivialen triviale triviales triviale
weak declension
(with definite article)		 nominative der triviale die triviale das triviale die trivialen
genitive des trivialen der trivialen des trivialen der trivialen
dative dem trivialen der trivialen dem trivialen den trivialen
accusative den trivialen die triviale das triviale die trivialen
mixed declension
(with indefinite article)		 nominative ein trivialer eine triviale ein triviales (keine) trivialen
genitive eines trivialen einer trivialen eines trivialen (keiner) trivialen
dative einem trivialen einer trivialen einem trivialen (keinen) trivialen
accusative einen trivialen eine triviale ein triviales (keine) trivialen
Comparative forms of trivial
number & gender singular plural
masculine feminine neuter all genders
predicative er ist trivialer sie ist trivialer es ist trivialer sie sind trivialer
strong declension
(without article)		 nominative trivialerer trivialere trivialeres trivialere
genitive trivialeren trivialerer trivialeren trivialerer
dative trivialerem trivialerer trivialerem trivialeren
accusative trivialeren trivialere trivialeres trivialere
weak declension
(with definite article)		 nominative der trivialere die trivialere das trivialere die trivialeren
genitive des trivialeren der trivialeren des trivialeren der trivialeren
dative dem trivialeren der trivialeren dem trivialeren den trivialeren
accusative den trivialeren die trivialere das trivialere die trivialeren
mixed declension
(with indefinite article)		 nominative ein trivialerer eine trivialere ein trivialeres (keine) trivialeren
genitive eines trivialeren einer trivialeren eines trivialeren (keiner) trivialeren
dative einem trivialeren einer trivialeren einem trivialeren (keinen) trivialeren
accusative einen trivialeren eine trivialere ein trivialeres (keine) trivialeren
Superlative forms of trivial
number & gender singular plural
masculine feminine neuter all genders
predicative er ist am trivialsten sie ist am trivialsten es ist am trivialsten sie sind am trivialsten
strong declension
(without article)		 nominative trivialster trivialste trivialstes trivialste
genitive trivialsten trivialster trivialsten trivialster
dative trivialstem trivialster trivialstem trivialsten
accusative trivialsten trivialste trivialstes trivialste
weak declension
(with definite article)		 nominative der trivialste die trivialste das trivialste die trivialsten
genitive des trivialsten der trivialsten des trivialsten der trivialsten
dative dem trivialsten der trivialsten dem trivialsten den trivialsten
accusative den trivialsten die trivialste das trivialste die trivialsten
mixed declension
(with indefinite article)		 nominative ein trivialster eine trivialste ein trivialstes (keine) trivialsten
genitive eines trivialsten einer trivialsten eines trivialsten (keiner) trivialsten
dative einem trivialsten einer trivialsten einem trivialsten (keinen) trivialsten
accusative einen trivialsten eine trivialste ein trivialstes (keine) trivialsten

Further reading

Portuguese

Adjective

trivial m or f (plural triviais, comparable)

  1. trivial

Spanish

Adjective

trivial (plural triviales)

  1. trivial
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