Word
trinket
Phoneticstrin·ket, stress on the first syllable
US/ˈtɹɪŋkət/
UK/tɹˈɪŋkɪt/
Countable noun
Definition
n. a small, cheap, or pretty object that has little value. You often see these as souvenirs or decorations.
n. a small, cheap, or pretty object of little value. Often used to describe decorative items or souvenirs that lack significant utility or monetary worth.
Examples
“She bought a cheap trinket at the market.”
“The sailor kept a small silver trinket in his pocket as a good luck charm during the long voyage.”
“While the antique dealer dismissed the collection as a pile of worthless trinkets, the family viewed each piece as a vital link to their ancestral history.”
Examples
simple
“She bought a cheap trinket at the market.”
contextual
“The sailor kept a small silver trinket in his pocket as a good luck charm during the long voyage.”
complex
“While the antique dealer dismissed the collection as a pile of worthless trinkets, the family viewed each piece as a vital link to their ancestral history.”
Real-World Examples
“If most people know anything about the Lenape, it’s their role in New York’s apocryphal origin story: that Manhattan was sold to the Dutch for $24 worth of trinkets.” “Others left a bouquet of roses mixed with a variety of blooms in pink and white, and a large seashell filled with gems and other trinkets.” Etymology
The origin of the noun is unknown; the word is possibly related to Old French tryncle (“piece of jewellery”). The following have also been suggested: * From Middle English trenket, trynket (“small knife, specifically, a cordwainer’s knife”). * From trick (“plaything, toy; trifle”, noun) or trick (verb). However, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, there is insufficient evidence of any shift of meaning from these words to the current meanings of trinket. The verb is derived from the noun.
PIE word *tréyes From trink (“(UK, dialectal, especially Scotland) channel, watercourse; trench”) + -et (diminutive suffix); compare Scots trink. Trink is possibly derived from Occitan trencque, trenque (Picardy), from Old French trenche, tranche (“trench”) (modern French tranche), from trenchier (“to cut”); further etymology uncertain, possibly: from Latin truncāre, the present active infinitive of truncō (“to maim or mutilate by cutting off pieces; to truncate”), from truncus (“tree trunk; piece cut off”) (possibly from Proto-Indo-European twerḱ- (“to carve; to cut off, trim”)) + -ō (suffix forming regular first-conjugation verbs); or from Vulgar Latin trinicāre (“to cut into three parts”), from Latin tri- (prefix meaning ‘three’) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *tréyes (“three”)) + duplicāre (“to double by dividing, split in two, tear”); possibly also influenced by Gaulish *trincare (“to cut off (the head)”).
Origin uncertain, possibly: * from trinket (“small, showy ornament; thing of little value”) (see etymology 1); or * borrowed from Welsh trànked.
PIE word *tréyes Probably from French trinquet (“foremast; sail attached to a foremast”), from Italian trinchetto (“small sail, especially a foresail”), possibly from Latin triquetrus (“three-cornered, triangular”) (referring to a three-cornered sail), from tri- (prefix meaning ‘three’) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European tréyes (“three”)) + Proto-Indo-European kʷeh₁d- (“sharp”). Cognates * Catalan trinquet, triquete * French trinquet, trinquette * Italian trinchetto * Portuguese traquete * Spanish trinquete, trinquetilla
Possibly borrowed from Scots trinket, trincket; further origin unknown, possibly related to: * trinket (“item used in a religious rite (also, a religious rite, belief, etc.) regarded as superfluous or trivial”) (see etymology 1); or * trick (noun) or trick (verb).
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Domains
- Exam level
- CambridgeCambridgeCambridge English QualificationsThe exam suite from Cambridge University Press & Assessment, from A1 Movers up to C2 Proficiency. The benchmark names double as CEFR labels.B2 FirstIELTSIELTSInternational English Language Testing SystemThe 0–9 band test co-owned by the British Council, IDP, and Cambridge. Used for university entry, work, and migration.5.5–6.5TOEFL iBTTOEFL iBTTest of English as a Foreign Language, Internet-Based TestETS's academic English test, the standard route for US university admissions. Scored 0–120, with a 1–6 scale since 2026.1–6 scale: 4.0–4.572–94TOEICTOEICTest of English for International CommunicationETS's workplace English test, big in Japan and Korea. Listening & Reading scores 10–990 and tops out at C1.785–944
- Frequency
- Occasional
- Level
- B2 · Upper Intermediate
- Updated
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