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Origin and history of tryst

tryst(n.)

c.1200, triste, "appointed station," from Old French triste, variant of tristre "waiting place, appointed station where hunters await game," probably from a Scandinavian source such as Old Norse treysta "to trust, make firm," from Proto-Germanic *treuwaz "having or characterized by good faith" (from suffixed form of PIE root *deru- "be firm, solid, steadfast"). The etymological notion would be "place one waits trustingly."

Hence, by late 14c., "appointment to meet at a certain time and place." In Scotland also a horse or cattle market. As a verb, late 14c., "make an appointment to meet." To bide tryst was to wait at an appointed place and time. Related: Trysting.

Entries linking to tryst

also *dreu-, Proto-Indo-European root meaning "be firm, solid, steadfast," with specialized senses "wood," "tree" and derivatives referring to objects made of wood.

It might form all or part of: betroth; Dante; dendrite; dendro-; dendrochronology; dour; Druid; drupe; dryad; dura mater; durable; durance; duration; duress; during; durum; endure; hamadryad; indurate; obdurate; perdurable; philodendron; rhododendron; shelter; tar (n.1) "viscous liquid;" tray; tree; trig (adj.) "smart, trim;" trim; troth; trough; trow; truce; true; trust; truth; tryst.

It might also be the source of: Sanskrit dru "tree, wood," daru "wood, log, timber;" Greek drys "oak," drymos "copse, thicket," doru "beam, shaft of a spear;" Old Church Slavonic drievo "tree, wood," Serbian drvo "tree," drva "wood," Russian drevo "tree, wood," Czech drva, Polish drwa "wood;" Lithuanian drūtas "firm," derva "pine, wood;" Welsh drud, Old Irish dron "strong," Welsh derw "true," Old Irish derb "sure," Old Irish daur, Welsh derwen "oak;" Albanian drusk "oak;" Old English treo, treow "tree," triewe "faithful, trustworthy, honest."

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