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trice

 - 7 dictionary results

trice

1  [trahys] ,
Use trice in a Sentence
–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-

Usage note:
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.
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Word Origin & History

trice 
c.1373, "haul up and fasten with a rope" (v.), from M.Du. trisen "hoist," from trise "pulley," of unknown origin. Hence at a tryse (1440) "in a very short time," lit. "at a single pluck or pull." The M.Du. word is the source of Du. trijsen "to hoist," and cognate with M.L.G. trissen (source of Dan. trisse, Ger. triezen); its ultimate origin is unknown.

-trix 
fem. agential suffix, from L., corresponding to masc. -tor.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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