The expression ācoffee breakā was first attested in 1952 in glossy magazine advertisements by the Pan-American Coffee Bureau.
TRIVIA
triviality, trivia, trifle, small beer
(noun) something of small importance
TRIVIUM
trivium
(noun) (Middle Ages) an introductory curriculum at a medieval university involving grammar and logic and rhetoric; considered to be a triple way to eloquence
Source: WordNet® 3.1
Etymology
Proper noun
Trivia
(Roman god) The goddess of crossroads. (Compare Hecate.)
Etymology 1
Noun
trivia (countable and uncountable, plural trivia)
insignificant trifles of little importance, especially items of unimportant information
A quiz game that involves obscure facts.
Usage notes
• Formerly, as word derived from a Latin plural, trivia required a plural verb, as in the first usage example above. Most modern authorities accept a singular verb, and this may be the preferred usage in the US. The game (2) is always regarded as a singular noun.
Etymology 2
Noun
trivia
plural of trivium
Source: Wiktionary
TRIVIUM
Triv"i*um, n. Etym: [LL. See Trivial.]
1. The three " liberal" arts, grammar, logic, and rhetoric; -- being a triple way, as it were, to eloquence.
Note: The trivium and quadrivium together made up the seven liberal arts. See Quadrivium.
2. (Zoƶl.)
Definition: The three anterior ambulacra of echinoderms, collectively.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
Recent Word Finds
Word of the Day
22 February 2025
ANALYSIS
(noun) the use of closed-class words instead of inflections: e.g., āthe father of the brideā instead of āthe brideās fatherā
Coffee Trivia
