trefoil

[ tree-foil, tref-oil ]

/ ˈtri fɔɪl, ˈtrɛf ɔɪl /

noun

any of numerous plants belonging to the genus Trifolium, of the legume family, having usually digitate leaves of three leaflets and reddish, purple, yellow, or white flower heads, comprising the common clovers.

any of various similar plants.

Architecture. an ornament composed of three lobes, divided by cusps, radiating from a common center.

such an ornamental figure used by the Girl Scouts as its official emblem.

adjective

of, relating to, or shaped like a trefoil.

Nearby words

Origin of trefoil

1350–1400; Middle English < Anglo-French trifoil < Latin trifolium triple leaf, the three-leaved plant, clover, equivalent to tri- tri- + folium leaf

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for trefoil

The shamrock, which is identical with the trefoil, is the national badge of Ireland.
The Curiosities of Heraldry|Mark Antony Lower
Lucy wore her trefoil with 117 a new gratitude and a new understanding.
The Girl Scouts Rally|Katherine Keene Galt
"Yes—a smell of lamp-oil mingled with trefoil," agreed Bazarov with a yawn.
Fathers and Sons|Ivan Sergeevich Turgenev
I was most struck with the occurrence of at least two species of Lucerne, or Trefoil: wells are common, and water abundant.
Journals of Travels in Assam, Burma, Bhootan, Afghanistan and The|William Griffith

In the trefoil of this happy marriage, she was the first leaf which faded away in the autumn of life.
Translations from the German (Vol 3 of 3)|Thomas Carlyle

British Dictionary definitions for trefoil

trefoil

/ (ˈtrɛfɔɪl) /

noun

any of numerous leguminous plants of the temperate genus Trifolium, having leaves divided into three leaflets and dense heads of small white, yellow, red, or purple flowers

any of various related plants having leaves divided into three leaflets, such as bird's-foot trefoil

a leaf having three leaflets

architect an ornament in the form of three arcs arranged in a circle

Derived Formstrefoiled, adjective

Word Origin for trefoil

C14: from Anglo-French trifoil, from Latin trifolium three-leaved herb, from tri- + folium leaf

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for trefoil

trefoil

c.1400, from Anglo-French trifoil (c.1265), from Old French trefeuil, from Latin trifolium "three-leaved plant," from tri- "three" (see tri-) + folium "leaf" (see folio).