Changes

==Origin==

==Origin==

New Latin, back-formation from [[Latin]] ''trivialis''

New Latin, back-formation from [[Latin]] ''trivialis''

*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1920 1920]

*[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1920 1920]

The [[Latin]] neuter noun ''trivium'' (plural ''trivia'') is from ''tri''- "triple" and via "way", [[meaning]] "a place where three ways meet". The pertaining adjective is ''triviālis''. The adjective ''trivial'' was adopted in [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Early_Modern_English Early Modern English], while the noun ''trivium'' only appears in learned usage from the 19th century, in reference to the ''Artes Liberales'' and the plural ''trivia'' in the sense of "trivialities, trifles" only in the 20th century.

The [[Latin]] neuter noun ''trivium'' (plural ''trivia'') is from ''tri''- "triple" and via "way", [[meaning]] "a place where three ways meet". The pertaining adjective is ''triviālis''. The adjective ''trivial'' was adopted in [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Early_Modern_English Early Modern English], while the noun ''trivium'' only appears in learned usage from the 19th century, in reference to the ''Artes Liberales'' and the plural ''trivia'' in the sense of "trivialities, trifles" only in the 20th century.

The [[Latin]] adjective ''triviālis'' in Classical Latin besides its [[literal]] [[meaning]] could have the meaning "appropriate to the street corner, commonplace, vulgar." In [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Late_Latin late Latin], it could also simply mean "triple". In [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medieval_Latin medieval Latin], it came to refer to the lower division of the ''Artes Liberales'', namely [[grammar]], [[rhetoric]], and [[logic]]. (The other four Liberal Arts were the quadrivium, namely [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arithmetic arithmetic], [[geometry]], [[music]], and [[astronomy]], which were more [[challenging]].) Hence, trivial in this sense would have meant "of interest only to an undergraduate".

The [[Latin]] adjective ''triviālis'' in Classical Latin besides its [[literal]] [[meaning]] could have the meaning "appropriate to the street corner, commonplace, vulgar." In [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Late_Latin late Latin], it could also simply mean "triple". In [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medieval_Latin medieval Latin], it came to refer to the lower division of the ''Artes Liberales'', namely [[grammar]], [[rhetoric]], and [[logic]]. (The other four Liberal Arts were the quadrivium, namely [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arithmetic arithmetic], [[geometry]], [[music]], and [[astronomy]], which were more [[challenging]].) Hence, trivial in this sense would have meant "of interest only to an undergraduate".

The adjective ''trivial'' introduced into [[English]] in the 15th to 16th century was [[influenced]] by all three meanings of the [[Latin]] adjective:

The adjective ''trivial'' introduced into [[English]] in the 15th to 16th century was [[influenced]] by all three meanings of the [[Latin]] adjective:

*A 15th century English translation of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ranulf_Higdon Ranulf Higdon] mentions the ''arte trivialle'', referring to the ''trivium'' of the Liberal Arts.

*A 15th century English translation of [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ranulf_Higdon Ranulf Higdon] mentions the ''arte trivialle'', referring to the ''trivium'' of the Liberal Arts.

*The same work also calls a ''triuialle distinccion'' a threefold division. This is due to an application of the term by [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arnobius Arnobius], and was never common either in [[Latin]] or [[English]].

*The same work also calls a ''triuialle distinccion'' a threefold division. This is due to an application of the term by [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arnobius Arnobius], and was never common either in [[Latin]] or [[English]].

*The [[meaning]] "trite, commonplace, unimportant, slight" occurs from the late 16th century, notably in the works of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shakespeare Shakespeare].

*The [[meaning]] "trite, commonplace, unimportant, slight" occurs from the late 16th century, notably in the works of [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shakespeare Shakespeare].

''Trivia'' was used as a title by [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Logan_Pearsall_Smith Logan Pearsall Smith] in 1902, followed by ''More Trivia'' and ''All Trivia'' in 1921 and 1933, respectively, collections of short "moral pieces" or aphorisms. Book II of the 1902 publication is headed with a purported quote from "''Gay's Trivia'', or ''New Art of Walking Streets of London''.",

''Trivia'' was used as a title by [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Logan_Pearsall_Smith Logan Pearsall Smith] in 1902, followed by ''More Trivia'' and ''All Trivia'' in 1921 and 1933, respectively, collections of short "moral pieces" or aphorisms. Book II of the 1902 publication is headed with a purported quote from "''Gay's Trivia'', or ''New Art of Walking Streets of London''.",

:"Thou, Trivia, goddess, aid my [[song]]: Through spacious streets conduct thy bard along."

:"Thou, Trivia, goddess, aid my [[song]]: Through spacious streets conduct thy bard along."

The February 5, 1965 [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columbia_Daily_Spectator Columbia Spectator] article did not revive the word "trivia"; it humorously applied the grandiose [[Latin]] term to topics like, "Who played the Old Gypsy Woman in The Wolfman?" (Answer: Maria Ouspenskaya.) Nor had "trivia" ever implied contests about such matters. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columbia_University Columbia University] students Ed Goodgold and Dan Carlinsky, who had [[proposed]] the new use in their original article, swiftly created the earliest inter-collegiate quiz bowls that tested [[culturally]] (and [[emotionally]]) significant yet essentially unimportant [[facts]], which they dubbed "trivia contests".  

The February 5, 1965 [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columbia_Daily_Spectator Columbia Spectator] article did not revive the word "trivia"; it humorously applied the grandiose [[Latin]] term to topics like, "Who played the Old Gypsy Woman in The Wolfman?" (Answer: Maria Ouspenskaya.) Nor had "trivia" ever implied contests about such matters. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columbia_University Columbia University] students Ed Goodgold and Dan Carlinsky, who had [[proposed]] the new use in their original article, swiftly created the earliest inter-collegiate quiz bowls that tested [[culturally]] (and [[emotionally]]) significant yet essentially unimportant [[facts]], which they dubbed "trivia contests".  

The first [[book]] treating "trivia" in the [[radical]] new sense was ''Trivia'' (Dell, 1966)-- again by Goodgold and Carlinsky, which achieved a ranking on the New York Times best seller list; the [[book]] was an extension of the pair's Columbia contests and was followed by other Goodgold and Carlinsky trivia titles. In their second book, ''More Trivial Trivia'', the [[authors]] [[criticized]] practitioners who were "indiscriminate enough to [[confuse]] the flower of Trivia with the weed of minutiae"; Trivia, they wrote, "is concerned with tugging at heartstrings," while minutiae deals with such unevocative questions as "Which state is the largest consumer of Jell-O?" (Answer: California) But over the years the [[word]] has come to refer to [[obscure]] and arcane bits of dry [[knowledge]] as well as [[nostalgic]] remembrances of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Popular_culture pop culture].

The first [[book]] treating "trivia" in the [[radical]] new sense was ''Trivia'' (Dell, 1966)-- again by Goodgold and Carlinsky, which achieved a ranking on the New York Times best seller list; the [[book]] was an extension of the pair's Columbia contests and was followed by other Goodgold and Carlinsky trivia titles. In their second book, ''More Trivial Trivia'', the [[authors]] [[criticized]] practitioners who were "indiscriminate enough to [[confuse]] the flower of Trivia with the weed of minutiae"; Trivia, they wrote, "is concerned with tugging at heartstrings," while minutiae deals with such unevocative questions as "Which state is the largest consumer of Jell-O?" (Answer: California) But over the years the [[word]] has come to refer to [[obscure]] and arcane bits of dry [[knowledge]] as well as [[nostalgic]] remembrances of [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Popular_culture pop culture].

==Description==

==Description==

The '''trivia''' (singular [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trivium_(education) trivium], adjective trivial) are the three lower ''Artes Liberales'', i.e. [[grammar]], [[rhetoric]] and [[logic]]. These were the topics of basic [[education]], foundational to the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quadrivia quadrivia] of higher education, and hence the [[material]] of basic education, of interest only to undergraduates. The [[word]] trivia was also used to describe a place where three roads met in Ancient Rome.

The '''trivia''' (singular [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trivium_(education) trivium], adjective trivial) are the three lower ''Artes Liberales'', i.e. [[grammar]], [[rhetoric]] and [[logic]]. These were the topics of basic [[education]], foundational to the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quadrivia quadrivia] of higher education, and hence the [[material]] of basic education, of interest only to undergraduates. The [[word]] trivia was also used to describe a place where three roads met in Ancient Rome.

The [[term]] had become, during the 20th Century, as forgotten as the system of [[education]] it pertained to when it was [[ironically]] appropriated to mean something very new. In the 1960s, [[nostalgic]] college students and others began to informally trade questions and answers about the popular culture of their [[youth]]. The first known documented labeling of this casual parlor game as "Trivia" was in a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columbia_Daily_Spectator Columbia Daily Spectator] column published on February 5, 1965. The [[authors]], Ed Goodgold and Dan Carlinsky, then started the first [[organized]] trivia contests, described above. Since the 1960s, the plural trivia in particular has widened to include [[knowledge]] that is nice to have but not [[essential]], specifically detailed [[knowledge]] on topics of popular culture. The [[expression]] has also come to suggest [[information]] of the kind useful almost exclusively for answering quiz questions, hence the brand name [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trivial_Pursuit ''Trivial Pursuit''] (1982).

The [[term]] had become, during the 20th Century, as forgotten as the system of [[education]] it pertained to when it was [[ironically]] appropriated to mean something very new. In the 1960s, [[nostalgic]] college students and others began to informally trade questions and answers about the popular culture of their [[youth]]. The first known documented labeling of this casual parlor game as "Trivia" was in a [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columbia_Daily_Spectator Columbia Daily Spectator] column published on February 5, 1965. The [[authors]], Ed Goodgold and Dan Carlinsky, then started the first [[organized]] trivia contests, described above. Since the 1960s, the plural trivia in particular has widened to include [[knowledge]] that is nice to have but not [[essential]], specifically detailed [[knowledge]] on topics of popular culture. The [[expression]] has also come to suggest [[information]] of the kind useful almost exclusively for answering quiz questions, hence the brand name [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trivial_Pursuit ''Trivial Pursuit''] (1982).

[[Category: General Reference]]

[[Category: General Reference]]