Etymograph

English

trident

Trident comes from Latin tridēns ‘trident, a three-tined spear’, from dēns ‘tooth’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₃ed- ‘to bite’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₃ed-1‘to bite’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₃dónts2‘tooth’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*dents2‘tooth’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdēns3‘tooth’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEtridēns3‘trident, a three-tined spear’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1951trident3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Proto-Indo-European *h₃dónts
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Latin dens
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English trident
  4. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1951, R. S. McNaught, Lines of Approach: “I recall the height of comfort attained by the…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₃ed-Wiktionary, Proto-Indo-European *h₃dónts‘to bite’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₃dóntsWiktionary, Latin dens‘tooth’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*dentsWiktionary, Latin dens‘tooth’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdēnsWiktionary, English trident‘tooth’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEtridēnsWiktionary, English trident‘trident, a three-tined spear’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1951tridentWiktionary, English trident. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1951, R. S. McNaught, Lines of Approach: “I recall the height of comfort attained by the…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *h₃ed- ‘to bite’

odor, annoy, ozone, egregious, toothless, odious, osmium, odium, redolent, 64 more

through Proto-Indo-European *h₃dónts ‘tooth’

tooth, zinc, tusk, 45 more

through Latin dēns ‘tooth’

dental, dens, dancy, denture, dentate, dentin, 39 more

Today it means

noun A three-pronged spear somewhat resembling a pitchfork.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “trident”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Proto-Indo-European *h₃dónts, Latin dens. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *h₃ed- / trident

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