trice

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   only in 'in a trice': a very short time; an instant

   The stagehands cleared the set in a trice.

2. 2
   verb

   nautical: to haul up and secure something with a rope

   The crew will trice up the boat before the storm reaches the harbor.

Simplified etymology

Trice is unrelated to tri- and the number three. It comes from early Dutch trisen, meaning “to pull sharply” or “hoist.” In the Middle Ages, at a trice meant “at one pull or tug”; by the early 16th century that form of the expression had given way to in a trice, now meaning “in a moment” or “immediately.”

The instant sense is connected with the older verb trice, 'to pull or hoist quickly,' borrowed in Middle English from a Middle Dutch or Middle Low German nautical word for hauling gear. A single sharp pull supplied the image behind the phrase in a trice.

Topics

External links

• Google Images
• Cambridge Dictionary
• Wiktionary