English
trip
Trip comes from Middle English trippen ‘to step lightly’, perhaps from Old French triper ‘to hop, dance’, or Middle Dutch trippen.
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400triper‘to hop or dance around’uncertain
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500trippen‘to step lightly, skip’
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1503–1512trip
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Lineage
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400triper‘to hop or dance around’uncertain
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500trippen‘to step lightly, skip’
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1503–1512trip
Earliest quotation: c. 1503–1512, John Skelton, Ware the Hauke; republished in John Scattergood: “And the Pharasay / Then durst nothynge say, /…”
The story
Related also to trap, tramp.
Every English word from Old French triper
Another origin of trip
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400trippe
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500tryppe‘a group of animals’
- Englishtodaytrip
Possibly related to troop.
Today it means
noun A journey; an excursion or jaunt.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Old French triper / trip