trig

Etymology 1

From Middle English trig, tryg, from Old Norse tryggr (“loyal, faithful, true”), from Proto-Germanic *triwwiz (“loyal, faithful, true”). Cognate with Old English trīewe (“faithful, loyal, true”). More at true.

adj

1. (now chiefly dialectal) True; trusty; trustworthy; faithful.
2. (now chiefly dialectal) Safe; secure.
3. (now chiefly dialectal) Tight; firm; steady; sound; in good condition or health.
4. Neat; tidy; trim; spruce; smart.
   we possess of pig's skin and stirrups to keep them square and trig 1857, J. Rarey, “The Taming of Horses”, in British Quarterly Review
   The [torture] stories seemed incongruent with the men telling them – a trim, trig lot who, given a few pounds more flesh, might have stepped right out of a recruiting poster. 1973, Newsweek, April 16
5. (now chiefly dialectal) Active; clever.

noun

1. (now chiefly dialectal) A dandy; coxcomb.

Etymology 2

Clipping of trigonometry.

noun

1. (uncountable) Trigonometry.
2. (surveying, countable, informal) A trigonometric point; a trig point.

Etymology 3

See trigger.

noun

1. (UK) A stone, block of wood, or anything else, placed under a wheel or barrel to prevent motion; a scotch; a skid.
   You might as well smite that saw with your fist ; you might as well put a trig under the dam and stop it, as to practise on him 1850, Sylvester Judd, Richard Edney and the Governor's Family
2. The mark for players at skittles, etc.

verb

1. (transitive) To stop (a wheel, barrel, etc.) by placing something under it; to scotch; to skid.

Etymology 4

Compare Danish trykke (“to press”).

verb

1. To fill; to stuff; to cram.

Etymology 5

Clipping.

noun

1. (medicine, informal) Triglyceride.