Trivia

¹ American  

[triv-ee-uh] / ˈtrɪv i ə /

noun

1. (in Roman religion) Diana: so called because she was the goddess of three-way crossroads and also because she was regarded as a deity with three personae.

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trivia ² American  

[triv-ee-uh] / ˈtrɪv i ə /

plural noun

1. matters or things that are very unimportant, inconsequential, or nonessential; trifles; trivialities.

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trivia British  

/ ˈtrɪvɪə /

noun

1. (functioning as singular or plural) petty details or considerations; trifles; trivialities

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Etymology

Origin of Trivia¹

First recorded in 1700–10; from Latin, feminine of trivius (adj.), derivative of trivium “place where three roads meet,” equivalent to tri- tri- + -vium, derivative of via “way, road”

Origin of trivia¹

1900–05; pseudo-Latin trivia (neuter plural), taken as the base of trivial

Example Sentences

Last year, the production began using geolocation icons to show the folks at home where a nominee was seated in the ballroom while pop-up banners shared trivia about presenters and winners.

From Salon

That’s little more than a trivia answer, though, as the two teams are entirely different now.

From Los Angeles Times

Following their conversation, audience members participated in a lively game of Jane Austen trivia, during which it became clear that all in the room had done their homework.

From Los Angeles Times

We've built five quizzes to celebrate five BBC shows - but only those with the biggest football trivia brains can beat them all.

From BBC

Here’s a trivia question for your holiday road trip: In which five U.S. metropolitan areas did the consumer-price index rise by less than 2% over the preceding 12 months?

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• memorabilia
• minutiae