Table of contents:

Word of the day: trivial
Word of the day: trivial
Anonim

In this section, Lifehacker finds out the meanings of not the simplest words and tells where they came from.

Word of the day: trivial
Word of the day: trivial
Image
Image

History

In the Middle Ages, the Latin term trivium, in addition to the intersection of three roads, also denoted the first stage of education - the minimum level of knowledge: grammar, rhetoric and dialectics. Therefore, generally understandable, accessible and simple things are called trivial.

The word came to the Russian language from French at the beginning of the 19th century and did not change the original meaning. Modern explanatory dictionaries suggest using it to describe something ordinary or ordinary.

Usage examples

  • "It was said, however, that cadets often sharpen pencils with their daggers, but how dashing it was to use such a proud symbol for a trivial and base business!" Yukio Mishima, The Golden Temple.
  • “Having learned to artificially prolong the pain - even if it may seem trivial to someone, - we will achieve the fact that when a real, severe pain arises, we just have to not rush it, and it will fade away instantly!” Lewis Carroll, Sylvia & Bruno.
  • “The main difference between literature and life is that in books the percentage of original people is very high, and the percentage of trivial people is low; in life, the opposite is true. " Aldous Huxley, writer.

Recommended: