Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “trenchless” come from?

trenchless (English) comes from English trench, from Old French trenche, from Old French trenchier, from Vulgar Latin trinicare, from Latin trini, from Latin tres, from English three, from Middle English thre.

trenchless (English): Without trenches

Definitions

  1. Without trenches

Ancestry of “trenchless”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishtrenchA long, narrow ditch or hole dug in the ground; A...
2Old Frenchtrenchetrench; first-person singular present indicative...
3Old Frenchtrenchierto cut
4Vulgar Latintrinicarecut into three parts; cut in three parts
5Latintrininominative masculine plural of trīnus; genitive...
6Latintresthree; 3
7EnglishthreeA numerical value after two and before four....
8Middle Englishthrethree
9Old Englishþrī—
10Proto-West Germanicþrīʀthree
11Proto-Germanicþrīzthree
12Proto-Indo-European*tréyes—
Every word from Proto-Indo-European *tréyes →