trivia

Estimated CEFR level: C2 — Proficiency

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

  1. noun something of small importance
  2. noun (Middle Ages) an introductory curriculum at a medieval university involving grammar and logic and rhetoric; considered to be a triple way to eloquence

Etymology

PIE word *tréyes Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *tréyes Proto-Italic *trēs Latin trēsder. Latin tri- Proto-Indo-European *weyh₁- Proto-Italic *wijā Latin via Proto-Indo-European *-yós Proto-Italic *-ios Old Latin -ios Latin -ius Latin trivius Latin trivia English trivia From Latin trivia, plural of trivium (“place where three roads meet”). The term came to be used for any public place, and then for anything commonplace. Furthermore, because the beginners' course at university was called trivium, the word came to be used only for anything basic, simple and trivial.

In classic literature

Synonyms

triviality, trifle, small beer

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