Dictionary
Thesaurus
Encyclopedia
Translator
Web

trice

 - 5 dictionary results

trice

1[trahys] ,
–noun
a very short time; an instant: in a trice.

Origin:
1400–50; late ME tryse; prob. special use of *trise a pull, tug, deriv. of trisen, to pull; see trice 2

trice

2[trahys] ,
–verb (used with object), triced, tric⋅ing. Nautical.
1. to pull or haul with a rope.
2. to haul up and fasten with a rope (usually fol. by up).

Origin:
1350–1400; ME trisen < MD trīsen to hoist, deriv. of trīse pulley

-trice

var. of -trix.

Origin:
< F or It -trice < L -trīcem, acc. of -trīx -trix

-trix

a suffix occurring in loanwords from Latin, where it formed feminine nouns or adjectives corresponding to agent nouns ending in -tor (Bellatrix). On this model, -trix is used in English to form feminine nouns (aviatrix; executrix) and geometrical terms denoting straight lines (directrix).
Also, -trice.


Origin:
< L -trīx, s. -trīc-


A suffix borrowed directly from Latin, -trix has been used since the 15th century on feminine agent nouns that correspond to a masculine (in Latin) or generic (in English) agent noun ending in -tor: aviator, aviatrix; legislator, legislatrix; orator, oratrix. Most nouns in -trix have dropped from general use, so that terms like aviatrix, benefactrix, legislatrix, oratrix, and proprietrix occur rarely or not at all in present-day English. The forms in -tor are applied to both men and women: Her sister is the proprietor of a new restaurant. When relevant, sex is specified with the generic term: Amelia Earhart was a pioneer woman aviator. Legal documents still use administratrix, executrix, inheritrix, and the like, but these forms too are giving way to the -tor forms. See also -enne, -ess, -ette.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To trice
trice   (trīs)   
n.  A very short period of time; an instant: came back in a trice.
tr.v.   triced, tric·ing, tric·es Nautical
To hoist and secure with a rope: trice a sail.

[From Middle English (at a) trise, at one pull, from trisen, to hoist, from Middle Dutch trīsen, from trīse, pulley. V., from Middle English trisen.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Search another word or see trice on Thesaurus | Reference
FacebookTwitterFollow us: