Emily Dickinson Lexicon

TRI'FLE, n. [It coincides with trivial, – which see.]

1. A thing of very little value or importance; a word applicable to any thing and every thing of this character. With such poor trifles playing. Drayton. Moments make the year, and trifles, life. Young. Trifles / Are to the jealous confirmations strong. Shak.
2. A cake.

TRI'FLE, v.i.

1. To act or talk without seriousness, gravity, weight or dignity; to act or talk with levity. They trifle, and they beat the air about nothing which toucheth us. Hooker.
2. To indulge in light amusements. Law. To trifle with, to mock; to play the fool with; to treat without respect or seriousness. To trifle with, or To trifle away, to spend in vanity; to waste to no good purpose; as, to trifle with time, or to trifle away time; to trifle with advantages.

TRI'FLE, v.t.

To make of no importance. [Not in use.]

TRI'FLER, n.

One who trifles or acts with levity. Bacon.

TRI'FLING, n.

Employment about things of no importance.

TRI'FLING, ppr.

1. Acting or talking with levity, or without seriousness or being in earnest.
2. adj. Being of small value or importance; trivial; as, a trifling debt; a trifling affair.

TRI'FLING-LY, adv.

In a trifling manner; with levity; without seriousness or dignity.

TRI'FLING-NESS, n.

1. Levity of manners; lightness. Entick.
2. Smallness of value; emptiness; vanity.

TRI-FLO'ROUS, a. [L. tres, three, and flos, floris, flower.]

Three-flowered; bearing three flowers; as, a triflorous peduncle. Martyn.

TRI-FO'LI-ATE, a. [L. tres, three, and folium, leaf.]

Having three leaves. Harte.

TRI-FO'LI-O-LATE, a.

Having three folioles. Decandolle.

TRI'FO-LY, n.

Sweet trefoil. [See Trefoil.] Mason.

TRI'FORM, a. [L. triformis; tres and forma.]

Having a triple form or shape; as, the triform countenance of the moon. Milton.

TRI-FUR'CA-TED, a.

Having three branches or forks.

TRIG, a.

Full; trim; neat. [Not in use.]

TRIG, v.t. [W. trigaw. See Trigger.]

1. To fill; to stuff. [Not in use.]
2. To stop; as a wheel. Bailey.

TRIG'A-MOUS, a. [Gr. τρεις and γαμος, marriage.]

In botany, having three sorts of flowers in the same head, male, female, and hermaphrodite. Brande.

TRIG'A-MY, n. [Gr. τρεις, three, and γαμος, marriage.]

State of being married three times; or the state of having three hushands or three wives at the same time. Herbert.

TRIG'GER, n. [W. trigaw, to stop; Dan. trekker, to draw; trykker, to press or pinch; or trygger, to make sure; trug, Sw. trygg, safe, secure; trycka, to press. This is the Eng. true, or from the same root.]

1. A catch to hold the wheel of a carriage on a declivity.
2. The catch of a musket or pistol; the part which being pulled, looses the lock for striking fire.

TRI-GIN'TALS, n. [L. triginta.]

Trentals; the number of thirty masses to be said for the dead.

TRIG'LYPH, n. [Gr. τρεις, three, and γλυφη, sculpture.]

An ornament in the frieze of the Doric column, repeated at equal intervals. Each triglyph consists of two entire gutters or channels, cut to a right angle, called glyphs, and separated by three interstices, called femora. Cyc.

TRI-GLYPH'IC, or TRI-GLYPH'IC-AL, a.

1. Consisting of or pertaining to triglyphs.
2. Containing three sets of characters or sculptures. Gliddon.

TRIG'ON, n. [Gr. τρεις, three, and γωνια, angle.]

1. A triangle; a term used in astrology; also, trine, an aspect of two planets distant 120 degrees from each other. Cyc.
2. A kind of triangular lyre or harp.

TRIG'ON-AL, or TRIG'ON-OUS, a.

1. Triangular; having three angles or corners.
2. In botany, having three prominent longitudinal angles. Martyn.

TRIG-ON-O-MET'RIC-AL, a.

Pertaining to trigonometry; performed by or according to the rules of trigonometry.