Trivia

Trivia refers to bits of information, often of little importance.

Latin meaning and etymology

The trivia (singular trivium) are three lower Artes Liberales, i.e. grammar, logic, and rhetoric. These were the topics of basic education, foundational to the quadrivia of higher education, and hence the material of basic education and an important building block for all undergraduates.

The ancient Romans used the word trivia to describe where one road split or forked into two roads. Trivia was formed from tri (three) and via (road) – literally meaning "three roads", and in transferred use "a public place" and hence the meaning "commonplace."

The pertaining adjective is triviālis. The adjective trivial was adopted in Early Modern English, while the noun trivium only appears in learned usage from the 19th century, in reference to the Artes Liberales and the plural trivia in the sense of "trivialities, trifles" only in the 20th century.

The Latin adjective triviālis in Classical Latin besides its literal meaning could have the meaning "appropriate to the street corner, commonplace, vulgar." In late Latin, it could also simply mean "triple." In medieval Latin, it came to refer to the lower division of the Artes Liberales, namely grammar, rhetoric, and logic. (The other four Liberal Arts were the quadrivium, namely arithmetic, geometry, music, and astronomy, which were more challenging.) Hence, trivial in this sense would have meant "of interest only to an undergraduate."

Trivia (mythology)

Trivia in Roman mythology was the goddess who "haunted crossroads, graveyards, and was the goddess of sorcery and witchcraft, she wandered about at night and was seen only by the barking of dogs who told of her approach." She was the equivalent of the Greek goddess Hecate, the goddess of witchcraft, the three-way crossroads and the harvest moon. She was an underworld Titan-goddess who assisted Jove in the Titanomachy and was therefore able to keep her powers. She was a friend of Ceres and helped her to find her daughter Proserpina. As a part of her role as an underworld goddess, she was known as the Queen of Ghosts. Although she helped Ceres to find her daughter, she was also known to steal young maidens to assist her in her powers. These women later became nymphs.

Her association for Romans of the first century BCE with Artemis was so thorough that Lucretius identifies the altar of the goddess at the sacrifice of Iphianassa (Iphigeneia) in Aulis as Triviai virginis aram.

Trivia (album)

Trivia is a compilation album by the rock group Utopia, released in 1986. It consists of tracks from their albums Utopia, Oblivion and POV, as well as two new tracks, "Fix Your Gaze" and "Monument".

Track listing

Personnel

References

External links

Space

Space is the boundless three-dimensional extent in which objects and events have relative position and direction. Physical space is often conceived in three linear dimensions, although modern physicists usually consider it, with time, to be part of a boundless four-dimensional continuum known as spacetime. The concept of space is considered to be of fundamental importance to an understanding of the physical universe. However, disagreement continues between philosophers over whether it is itself an entity, a relationship between entities, or part of a conceptual framework.

Space (The Arrogant Worms album)

Space, stylized as SPACE, is the fourteenth album by the Canadian comedy music group, The Arrogant Worms. It was released in March 2014.

Track listing

Space (Modern Jazz Quartet album)

Space is an album by American jazz group the Modern Jazz Quartet featuring performances recorded in 1969 and released on the Apple label.

Reception

The Allmusic review stated "Overall this is an average but worthy outing from a group whose excellence could always be taken for granted".

Track listing

All compositions by John Lewis, except where noted.

Personnel

References