tridens

Latin

Etymology

From tri- (“three”) +‎ dēns (“tooth”).

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /ˈtri.dens/, [ˈt̪rɪd̪ẽːs̠]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈtri.dens/, [ˈt̪riːd̪ens]

Adjective

tridēns (genitive tridentis); third-declension one-termination adjective

1. three-tined, having three prongs or teeth

Declension

Third-declension one-termination adjective.

Number	Singular			Plural
Case / Gender	Masc./Fem.	Neuter		Masc./Fem.	Neuter
Nominative	tridēns			tridentēs	tridentia
Genitive	tridentis			tridentium
Dative	tridentī			tridentibus
Accusative	tridentem	tridēns		tridentēs	tridentia
Ablative	tridentī			tridentibus
Vocative	tridēns			tridentēs	tridentia

Noun

tridēns m (genitive tridentis); third declension

1. trident, a three-tined spear; specifically, an attribute of Neptune
   • 29 BCE – 19 BCE, Virgil, Aeneid 1.138–139:

     “nōn illī imperium pelagī saevumque tridentem,
     sed mihi sorte datum.”

     “Not to him [were] the empire of the sea and the stern trident [given], but to me [were] allotted by destiny.”
     (Neptune [me] dismisses the winds with a warning for Aeolus [him].)

Declension

Third-declension noun (i-stem, ablative singular in -e or -ī).

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	tridēns	tridentēs
Genitive	tridentis	tridentium
Dative	tridentī	tridentibus
Accusative	tridentem	tridentēs tridentīs
Ablative	tridente tridentī	tridentibus
Vocative	tridēns	tridentēs

Descendants

All borrowed.

• → English: trident
• → Galician: tridente
• → Italian: tridente
• → Spanish: tridente

Further reading

• “tridens”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “tridens”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• tridens in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
• “tridens”, in Harry Thurston Peck, editor (1898), Harper's Dictionary of Classical Antiquities, New York: Harper & Brothers
• “tridens”, in William Smith et al., editor (1890), A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities, London: William Wayte. G. E. Marindin