trifid

[ trahy-fid ]

/ ˈtraɪ fɪd /

adjective

cleft into three parts or lobes.

Nearby words

Origin of trifid

First recorded in 1745–55, trifid is from the Latin word trifidus split in three. See tri-, -fid

Related formssub·tri·fid, adjective

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

Examples from the Web for trifid

Canes short to medium, few in number, rather slender; tendrils continuous to intermittent, bifid to trifid.
The Grapes of New York|U. P. Hedrick
Posterior arms about one-third larger, also trifid, with one deeper anterior and one shallower posterior incision.
Report on the Radiolaria Collected by H.M.S. Challenger During the Years 1873-1876, First Part: Porulosa (Spumellaria and Acantharia)|Ernst Haeckel
Canes long, dark brown; nodes enlarged; tendrils continuous or intermittent, long, bifid or trifid.
Manual of American Grape-Growing|U. P. Hedrick
This trifid cross represents a game played by the Hopi with reeds and is depicted on many objects of pottery.
Archeological Expedition to Arizona in 1895|Jesse Walter Fewkes

The Trifid Nebula, situated in the constellation of Sagittarius, is an object of very strange shape.
Astronomy of To-day|Cecil G. Dolmage

British Dictionary definitions for trifid

trifid

/ (ˈtraɪfɪd) /

adjective

divided or split into three parts or lobes

Word Origin for trifid

C18: from Latin trifidus from tri- + findere to split

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 trifid

trifid

adj.

"divided into three lobes," 1620s, from Latin trifidus "cleft in three," from tri- "three" (see tri-) + -fid. This adjective probably inspired triffid, the name of the three-legged walking poisonous plants in John Wyndham's novel "The Day of the Triffids" (1951).

Medicine definitions for trifid

trifid

[ trī′fĭd′ ]

adj.

Divided into three narrow parts or lobes.