Dictionary entry

Trivial

Webster's Dictionary 1913

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.

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.