Where does “trivial” come from?

Trivial comes from Latin trivialis, derived from trivium, the intersection of three roads in Latin via, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European weǵʰ- meaning "to go."

trivial (English): Ignorable; of little significance or value;...

Definitions

  1. Ignorable; of little significance or value;...

Ancestry of “trivial”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Latintrivialiscommon, commonplace, ordinary, trivial
2Latintriviusof or belonging to crossroad temples
3Latintri-three, tri-
4Latintrēsthree; 3
5Proto-Italictrēsthree
6Proto-Indo-European*tréyes—

Words derived from “trivial”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European *tréyes →Every word from Proto-Italic trēs →Every word from Latin trēs →