Hypertext Webster Gateway: "trivial"

From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)

Trivial \Triv"i*al\, a. [L. trivialis, properly, that is in, or
belongs to, the crossroads or public streets; hence, that may
be found everywhere, common, fr. trivium a place where three
roads meet, a crossroad, the public street; tri- (see {Tri-})
+ via a way: cf. F. trivial. See {Voyage}.]
1. Found anywhere; common. [Obs.]

2. Ordinary; commonplace; trifling; vulgar.

As a scholar, meantime, he was trivial, and
incapable of labor. --De Quincey.

3. Of little worth or importance; inconsiderable; trifling;
petty; paltry; as, a trivial subject or affair.

The trivial round, the common task. --Keble.

4. Of or pertaining to the trivium.

{Trivial name} (Nat. Hist.), the specific name.

From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)

Trivial \Triv"i*al\, n.
One of the three liberal arts forming the trivium. [Obs.]
--Skelton. Wood.

From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)

trivial
adj 1: (informal terms) small and of little importance; "a fiddling
sum of money"; "a footling gesture"; "our worries are
lilliputian compared with those of countries that are
at war"; "a little (or small) matter"; "Mickey Mouse
regulations"; "a dispute over niggling details";
"limited to petty enterprises"; "piffling efforts";
"giving a police officer a free meal may be against
the law, but it seems to be a picayune infraction"
[syn: {fiddling}, {footling}, {lilliputian}, {little},
{Mickey Mouse}, {niggling}, {piddling}, {piffling}, {petty},
{picayune}]
2: obvious and dull; "trivial conversation"; "commonplace
prose" [syn: {banal}, {commonplace}]
3: of little substance or significance; "a few superficial
editorial changes"; "only trivial objections" [syn: {superficial}]
4: concerned with trivialities; "a trivial young woman"; "a
trivial mind"
5: not large enough to consider or notice [syn: {insignificant}]


Additional Hypertext Webster Gateway Lookup

Enter word here:
Exact Approx


dict.stokkie.net
Gateway by dict@stokkie.net
stock only wrote the gateway and does not have any control over the contents; see the Webster Gateway FAQ, and also the Back-end/database links and credits.