Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “trench” come from?

Trench comes from Old French trenche, derived from Old French trenchier, from Vulgar Latin trinicare, ultimately from Latin tres meaning three.

trench (English): A long, narrow ditch or hole dug in the ground; A...

Definitions

  1. A long, narrow ditch or hole dug in the ground; A...

Ancestry of “trench”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Frenchtrenchetrench; first-person singular present indicative...
2Old Frenchtrenchierto cut
3Vulgar Latintrinicarecut into three parts; cut in three parts
4Latintrininominative masculine plural of trīnus; genitive...
5Latintresthree; 3
6EnglishthreeA numerical value after two and before four....
7Middle Englishthrethree
8Old Englishþrī—
9Proto-West Germanicþrīʀthree
10Proto-Germanicþrīzthree
11Proto-Indo-European*tréyes—

Words derived from “trench”

  • entrench
  • trenchless
  • trenchwork
  • trenchlike
  • trenchful
  • entrencheth
  • betrench
  • mini-trench
  • entrencher
  • entrenchment
  • nanotrench
Every word from Proto-Indo-European *tréyes →