Where does “Trinity” come from?
Trinity comes from Middle English trinite, from Old French trinite, meaning the state of being three or threefold.
Trinity (English): In Christian belief, the three persons of the Godhead: the Father, Son and Holy Spirit
Definitions
- In Christian belief, the three persons of the Godhead: the Father, Son and Holy Spirit
Ancestry of “Trinity”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | trinite | A triad; a trinity |
| 2 | Anglo-Norman | trinite | — |
| 3 | Latin | trīnitās | threeness; the state of being three |
| 4 | German | Dreieinigkeit | Trinity |
| 5 | German | Einigkeit | unity; consensus, agreement |
| 6 | German | -keit | Alternative form of -heit; -ness, -ty; -ty |
| 7 | German | -heit | Converts an adjective into a noun and usually... |
| 8 | Middle High German | -heit | ness, -ity, -hood; forms nouns from adjectives, denoting the abstract quality of the adjective |
| 9 | Old High German | -heit | nature, character |
| 10 | Proto-West Germanic | -haidu | hood |
| 11 | Proto-Germanic | haiduz | manner, way; personality, character; appearance |
| 12 | Proto-Indo-European | (s)kayt- | — |