▪ I. trump, n.1
(trʌmp)
Also 3–6 trompe, 6 (8–9 arch.) tromp, 4–5 troumpe, 4–7 trumpe, (5 trommpe, trumppe); β. 6 Sc. trum, trumme, trumb(e.
[ME. a. F. trompe (12–13th c. in Hatz.-Darm.) = Prov. tromba, trompa, It. tromba; ulterior derivation uncertain.]
1. = trumpet n. 1. arch. and poet.
| 1297 R. Glouc. (Rolls) 8166 Of trompes & of tabors þe sarazins made þere So gret noyse. a 1300 Cursor M. 15011 (Cott.) Wit harp and pipe, and horn and trump. 1303 R. Brunne Handl. Synne 4770 As Dauyd seyþ yn þe sautere,..Wurschepe God, yn troumpes, and sautre. c 1375 Sc. Leg. Saints xiv. (Lucas) 78 Þat þe angel his trumpe sal blav, And ger þame ryse þat lyis law. 1382 Wyclif 1 Cor. xv. 52 In the laste trumpe; forsoth the trumpe schal synge. ― 1 Thess. iv. 15 In the voys of archaungel, and in the trumpe of God. c 1440 Alphabet of Tales 306 He sett þis trompe to his mouthe & began to blaw. 1526 Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 214 b, The day of the sounde of the claryon & trumpe of god. 1622 Drayton Poly-olb. xix. 141 With their crooked trumps his Tritons Neptune sent. 1748 Thomson Cast. Indol. i. xxviii, Withouten tromp was proclamation made. 1805 Scott Last Minstr. vi. xxxi, When louder yet, and yet more dread, Swells the high trump that wakes the dead! 1835 Lytton Rienzi v. iii, Like a king in his pomp, To the blast of the tromp, And the roar of the mighty drum. |
| β 15.. Aberdeen Regr. (Jam.), To play vpoune the trum nychtly, to convene the waich at ewin. 1549 Acc. Ld. High Treas. Scot. IX. 281 Foure Duchemen quha with thair trumbis playit before Ladye Barbara. Ibid. 283 For ane trumme..to convene hors and pyonaris. |
b. = Jews' harp, Jews' trump. Now Sc. and north. Ireland. tongue of the trump: see tongue n. 14 c.
| 1549 Compl. Scot. vi. 65 The thrid [shepherd] playit on ane trump. 1670 Narborough Jrnl. in Acc. Sev. Late Voy. i. (1694) 63, I gave them a Hatchet and Knives, and Beads, and Toys, Trumps etc. 1774 [see Jews' harp]. 1830 Scott Demonol. 314 She played on a Jews harp called in Scotland a trump. |
c. trump marine = trumpet marine: see trumpet n. 2 b.
| 1667 Pepys Diary 24 Oct., We in to see..one Monsieur Prin play on the trump-marine, which he do beyond belief. 1863 Thornbury True as Steel II. 164 Some blew hideous discord from the square-mouthed trump marine (a sort of bassoon). [An error.] |
d. transf. in reference to a sound like that of a trumpet.
| 1809 W. Irving Knickerb. iv. ii. (1861) 117 Wilhelmus Kieft..availed himself of that musical organ or trump which nature has implanted in the midst of a man's face. 1895 J. G. Millais Breath fr. Veldt (1899) 26 At sunset their [cranes'] hoarse trumps may be heard as they wing their flight to some solitary spot. |
e. slang or vulgar. The act of breaking wind audibly.
| 1903 in Farmer & Henley Slang. |
† 2. transf. One who plays a trump, a trumpeter.
| 13.. Sir Beues (A.) 3793 Þe trompes gonne here bemes blowe. 1473–4 Acc. Ld. High Treas. Scot. I. 14 Gevin to James sadillare for a sadill to the Kingis trompis. |
† 3. transf. A hollow tube or pipe; spec. (a) the convoluted windpipe of the crane; (b) the trunk of an elephant; the proboscis of an insect. Obs. rare.
| c 1440 Pallad. on Husb. ix. 179 To ha made Trumpis of cley bi potters. c 1460 J. Russell Bk. Nurture 431 The Crane..of hyre trompe in þe brest loke þat ye beware [in carving]. 1648 Hexham ii, Rotel ofte russel, the Trumpe or Snout of an Elephant. 1750 Phil. Trans. XLVI. 545 So that it [the Bee] does not suck, but laps or licks with its rough Fang or Tromp, like a Dog. |
4. fig. One who or that which proclaims, celebrates, or summons loudly like a trumpet; esp. in trump of fame and the like (cf. quot. c 1384 in trump v.1 2). arch. and poet.
| 1531 Elyot Gov. iii. xix, Howe moche worthyar had he [Cato] bene to haue hadde Homere, the trumpe of his fame immortall, than Achilles. 1548 Udall, etc. Erasm. Par. Matt. iv. 33 The trumpe of the voyce of the gospell. 1575 R. B. Appius & Virg. Prol., Who doth desire the trump of fame, to sound vnto the Skies. 1630 Quarles Funeral Elegies xiii, When the latest breath of fame Shall want her Trumpe, to glorifie a name. 1741–2 Gray Agrippina 122 Say we sound The trump of liberty. 1827 Keble Chr. Y., 1st Sun. Adv. i, Awake—again the Gospel-trump is blown. |
5. Comb., as trump-like adj., trump-maker.
| 1609 Reg. Mag. Sig. Scot. 57/2 Confectoris instrumentorum lusorialium lie trumpmaker. c 1611 Chapman Iliad ii. 419 A breast of brasse, a voyce Infract and trumplike. |
▪ II. trump, n.2
(trʌmp)
Also 6 troumpe, 6–7 tromp(e, trumpe.
[Corruption of triumph n., in senses 8, 8 b.]
1. a. A playing-card of that suit which for the time being ranks above the other three, so that any one such card can ‘take’ any card of another suit; spec. the card, usually that last turned up by the dealer, determining this suit; also, pl. (formerly also in sing.), the suit thus determined.
| 1529 Latimer 1st Serm. on Card in Foxe A. & M. (1563) 1302/2 Heartes is trumpe. ― 2nd Serm. ibid. 1306/1 Cast thy tromp vnto them both, and gather them all three together. 1575 Gamm. Gurton ii. ii. B iv, There is 5 trumps beside the Queene. 1607 Heywood Wom. Kild w. Kindn. Wks. 1874 II. 123 Anne. What's trumpes? Wend. Harts. 1656 Earl of Monmouth tr. Boccalini's Advts. fr. Parnass. i. ii. (1674) 4 Every the least Trump did take all the best Coat-Cards. 1779 Warner in Jesse Selwyn & Contemp. (1844) IV. 254, I won the first trick and led a trump. 1849 Hannay (title) Hearts are Trumps. 1885 Proctor Whist vii. 88 With good plain cards and five trumps you need never hesitate to lead trumps. |
† b. An obsolete card-game, known also as ruff.
| 1529 Latimer 1st Serm. on Card in Foxe A. & M. (1563) 1303/1 There be many one that breaketh this carde,..and playeth there with oftentimes at the blinde trompe, wherby they be no winners but great losers. 1575 Gamm. Gurton ii. ii. B iv, We be fast set at trumpe, man, hard by the fyre. 1598 Florio, Trionfo,..also a trump at cards, or the play called trump or ruff. 1688 R. Holme Armoury iii. xvi. (Roxb.) 72/1 Ruffe and Honors, and Whisk, which are generally amongst the Vulgar Termed Trump. 1798 Sporting Mag. XII. 299 Laws of the game of Trumps. [1807 Douce Illustr. Shaks. II. 96 The old card game of trump..bore a very strong resemblance to our modern whist.] |
c. An act of trumping; the taking of a trick with a trump card.
| 1853 Lytton My Novel i. xii, Parson..mixes all the cards together again, and..groans,..‘The cruelest trump!’ |
2. a. fig. and in fig. context. to turn up trumps, to turn out well or successfully (mod. colloq.).
| 1595 Locrine iv. ii, She..snatcht vp a fagot stick..and came furiously marching towards me,..thundering out..Thou drunken knaue, where hast thou bin so long?..and so shee began to play knaues trumps. 1621 Burton Anat. Mel. iii. iii. i. ii. (1651) 602 They turned up trumpe, before the Cards were shuffled. 1641 Hollis in Rushw. Hist. Coll. iii. (1692) I. 346 To be honest when every body else is honest, when Honesty is in fashion, and is Trump, as I may say, is nothing so meritorious. a 1734 North Exam. iii. vi. §63 (1740) 470 The same Card was going to be Trump in the factious Game against King Charles II. 1785 Grose Dict. Vulg. T. s.v. Trump, Something may turn up trumps, something lucky may happen. 1819 M. Wilmot Let. 3 Sept. (1935) 17 A little converted Jew..who received us into his house at a moderate rate and has turned up such trumps that I must introduce him to you. 1862 W. W. Collins No Name iv. viii, Instances..of short courtships and speedy marriages, which have turned up trumps—I beg your pardon—which have turned out well, after all. 1890 J. Hatton Order of Czar II. ii. xiii. 159 Nitrates have turned up trumps. |
† b. fig. An obstruction, a hindrance: in phr. (to cast) a trump in (one's) way. Obs.
| 1529 Latimer 1st Serm. on Card in Foxe A. & M. (1563) 1302/2 We wil fyrst cast a trumpe in theyr way, and play with them at cardes who shall haue the better. a 1548 Hall Chron., Edw. V 2 Euery one of these castes had been a troumpe in the duke of Gloucesters waye. 1577–87 Holinshed Chron. III. 855/2 He thought good first to send him some whither out of the waie, least he might cast a trumpe in his waie. |
c. to put (one) to († upon) his trump or trumps: To oblige a card-player to play out his trumps; fig. ‘to put to the last expedient’ (J.).
| 1559 Mirr. Mag., Jack Cade xx, Ere he took me, I put him to his trumpes. 1584 Lyly Campaspe iii. iv, Doeth not your beauty put the painter to his trump? 1681 Dryden Span. Friar iv. i, We are now put upon our last trump. 1697 W. Dampier Voy. (1729) I. 526 The Wind..oft put us to our trumps to manage the Ship. 1751 R. Paltock P. Wilkins xiv. (1883) 46/2 The strangeness of her dress put me to my trumps, to conceive either what it was, or how it was put on. 1824 W. Irving T. Trav. I. i. ii. 9 Whether such an unexpected accession of company..would not put the housekeeper to her trumps to accommodate them. 1907 W. James Pragmatism iv. 142 A bit of danger or hardship puts us agreeably to our trumps. |
3. a. colloq. as a term of hearty commendation: A person of surpassing excellence; a first-rate fellow; a ‘brick’.
| [1762 T. Bridges Burlesque Homer i. (1797) 37 But I, in spite of all his frumps, Shall make him know I'm king of trumps.] 1819 Sporting Mag. IV. 236 The Irish trump again got the throw. 1829 Chron. in Ann. Reg. 65/1 Girls of dissolute character..called out..‘Good bye, Tom! God bless you, my trump!’ 1837 Dickens Pickw. xli, You're a trump. 1867 Trollope Chron. Barset I. xv. 127 Nobody knows better than you what a trump I got in my wife. 1894 Du Maurier Trilby II. 257 Taffy, what a regular downright old trump you are! |
b. Austral. and N.Z. slang. A person in authority.
| 1937 Partridge Dict. Slang 912/2 Trump of the dump, the, anyone in authority: New Zealanders': in G[reat] W[ar]. 1941 Baker Dict. Austral. Slang 78 Trump, a commanding officer. Diggers' slang. 1950 Landfall (N.Z.) IV. 126 The hoops are on the last cask by 11.45, and the trump calls out all hands to load the railway wagon. Ibid. 127, The trump comes in and calls us gentlemen and wishes us the very best. 1974 D. Stuart Prince of my Country xiv. 142 There's a blackfeller or two knows which is which, shafters, and pin, and body, and leaders, the trump says. |
4. attrib. and Comb., as trump card (also fig.), trump lead, trump suit; trump-like adj.; trump signal, at Bridge and Whist, a call for trumps: see call v. 22 d (Funk's Stand. Dict., 1895).
| 1822 Byron Juan viii. xxv, ‘The best Intentions’..form all mankind's *trump-card. 1876 A. Campbell-Walker Correct Card (1880) 65 After the dealer has taken the trump card into his hand. 1884 Times (weekly ed.) 10 Oct. 9/3 The trump card which the Radicals played was the general remission of taxes. |
| 1870 Hardy & Ware Mod. Hoyle 25 *Trump leads, without strength in trumps can only be justified [etc.]. |
| 1836–9 Dickens Sk. Boz, Making a Night of it, A certain *trump-like punctuality in turning up just in the very nick of time. |
| 1901 C. J. Melrose Bridge Whist 41 His partner must..be on the alert to lead trumps through the opponent's strength, and to look out for a *trump signal from his partner. 1964 Frey & Truscott Official Encycl. Bridge 634/1 Some players use the trump signal whenever they hold three trumps. |
| 1861 Macm. Mag. Dec. 130 No trump is turned up, the *trump suit being determined in another way. 1862 ‘Cavendish’ Whist (1879) 10 Any one may inquire what the trump suit is, at any time. |
Hence ˈtrumpless a. (nonce-wd.), having or containing no trumps.
| 1899 A. Mainwaring Cut Cavendish 51 ‘Chicane’, i.e. a trumpless hand, counts twice the value of the trump suit. |
▪ III. † trump, n.3 Sc. Obs. rare.
[(?) Back-formation from trumpery.]
A thing of small value, a trifle; pl. goods of small value, trumpery.
| 1513 Douglas æneis v. xii. 47 From distructioun deliuer..Thir sobir trumpis, and mene grayth of Troianis. Ibid. viii. Prol. 107 Ten tendis ar a trump, bot gif he tak ma, Ane kinrik of paroch kyrkis cuppillit with commendis. |
▪ IV. trump, v.1
(trʌmp)
Forms: see trump n.1; also 4 Sc. trwmp.
[ME. a. OF. tromper (12th c. in Godef.), f. trompe, trump n.1]
1. intr. To blow or sound a trumpet: = trumpet v. 1. Also with up. ? Obs. or arch.
| 13.. Coer de L. 3892 They trumpyd, and her baners displaye. 13.. Cursor M. 21307 (Cott.) An..ringes.., dinnes þe toþer, trumpes þe thrid. 1375 Barbour Bruce viii. 293 He left his amonystyng, And gert trumpe to þe assemble. Ibid. xii. 491 He gert trwmp vp to the assemble. 1377 Langl. P. Pl. B. xiii. 230, I can noither tabre ne trompe, ne telle none gestes. c 1470 Harding Chron. ccxxx. (MS. Lansd. 204 lf. 219 b), The kynge..trumped vp and home he rode in hy. 1513 Douglas æneis xi. viii. 17 Tharfor trump vp, blaw furth thyne eloquens. 1535 Coverdale 2 Chron. xiii. 15 The prestes tromped with the trompettes. |
b. To give forth a trumpet-like sound; spec. to break wind audibly (slang or vulgar).
| c 1425 Wyntoun Cron. vi. ii. 176 In publik placis ay fra þat day Scho was behynde þan trumpande ay; Sa wes scho schamyt in ilk steid. 1552 Huloet, Trump or let a crackke, or fart, crepo. 1598 Florio, Trombeggiare,..to snort, to trump or bray as an asse. 1719 D'Urfey Pills I. 35 She who doth Trump, Through defect in her rump. 1798 R. Cumberland Aristoph. Clouds ii, I too..under sufferance trump against your thunder:..my frights..Have pinch'd and cholick'd my poor bowels so. a 1845 [see trumping below]. |
2. trans. To proclaim, celebrate, or extol by, or as by, the sound of a trumpet: = trumpet v. 2 b. Now rare or Obs.
| c 1384 Chaucer H. Fame iii. 539 Take forth thy trumpe,..That is cleped sklaundre..For thou shalt trumpe alle the contrarie Of that they han don wel or fayre. 1422 tr. Secreta Secret., Priv. Priv. 163 The trues [= truce] weryn trumped vp for that day. 1548 Udall Erasm. Par. Luke iv. 52 That the fathers glorye may be..troumped abrode by the sonne. 1686 F. Spence tr. Varillas' Ho. Medicis 231 This infirmity..trumpt him up the aversion of such people as knew not otherwise his merit. 1847 L. Hunt Men, Women, & B. II. i. 4 See also how Pope, and Swift, and others, trumped up Lord Bolingbroke for a philosopher! |
¶ 3. intr. To march or go (as at the sound of a trumpet). Cf. quots. 1375, c 1470 in sense 1. Obs.
| 1513 Douglas æneis xi. ix. 4 Eneas all his ost and haill army Hes rasyt, trumping to the town in hy. Ibid. xiii. 99 Bot this Orsilochus fled hyr in the feyld, And gan to trump with mony a turnyng went. |
Hence ˈtrumping vbl. n. and ppl. a.
| 13.. K. Alis. 924 (Bodl. MS.), Þer was trumpyng & tabouryng. 1398 Trevisa Barth. De P.R. ix. xxvii. (Bodl. MS.) lf. 97 b, By trumpinge þe peple was icleped to þis feste þat hatte neomenia. 1631 P. Fletcher Sicelides iii. iv. F ij b, Thou bluebeard Neptune, and thou trumphing [sic] Triton. a 1845 Hood Schoolboy Joys & Griefs, Six small Boys; Who ever and anon declare their joys, With trumping horns, and juvenile huzzas. |
▪ V. † trump, v.2 Obs.
Also 4 Sc. trwmp, 6 trumpe, 6–7 tromp(e.
[a. F. tromper (14th c.), of uncertain origin; perh. the same word as prec.: see Littré.]
trans. To deceive, cheat.
In quot. 1629, perh. identified with trump v.3
| 1375 Barbour Bruce xix. 712 Than sall we all be at our will, And thai sall let thame trwmpit [v.r. trumpyt] Ill. 1513 Douglas æneis i. vi. 82 That fals man,..With wanhope trumpit the lele luwair. 1584 J. Carmichael Lett. in Wodrow Soc. Misc. (1844) 415 To haif bein trompit with fair words. 1598 Dallington Meth. Trav. E iij, They very wrongfully tromped the heires of Edward the third, of their enioying this Crowne of France. 1629 B. Jonson New Inn i. i, When she [Fortune] is pleas'd to trick or tromp mankind. |
▪ VI. trump, v.3
[f. trump n.2
Appears first in figurative senses (2–3); in some early quots. it may have been confused with trump v.2; but the sense-development is not quite clear.]
I. 1. Cards. a. trans. To put a trump upon; to take with a trump.
| 1598 Florio, Trionfare,..to trump at cards. 1680 Cotton Gamester xi. 87 A Card that is trumped by the follower, if the next player hath none of the former suit he must trump it again. 1778 C. Jones Hoyle's Games Impr. 58 If your Partner forces you to trump a Card early in the Deal. 1837 Dickens Pickw. vi, Miller ought to have trumped the diamond. 1862 ‘Cavendish’ Whist (1879) 70 You may sometimes discontinue a suit if you suspect it will be trumped. |
b. absol. or intr. To play a trump; to take a trick with a trump. trump out, to play out one's trumps.
| 1680 Cotton Gamester x. 82 You ought to have a special eye to what Cards are play'd out, that you may know..how to trump securely. 1746 Hoyle Whist (ed. 6) 15 Do not trump out. Ibid. 79 If your Partner calls.., you are to trump to him. 1862 ‘Cavendish’ Whist (1879) 108 It is an advantage to trump when you are weak. |
2. fig. or in fig. context: in quot. 1586, ? to ‘put to one's trumps’, to nonplus; now usually, to beat, to ‘cap’.
| 1586 J. Ferne Blaz. Gentrie 190 If you be not trumped, in the blazonne of this coate, I care not to what I put you. a 1612 Harington Epigr. iv. xii, An odious play, and yet in Court oft seen, A sawcy Knave, to trump both King and Queene. 1681 Dryden Princess of Cleves Prol. 35 But since they're at renouncing, 'tis our parts, To trump their diamonds, as they trump our hearts. 1860 Thackeray Lovel iii, I trumped her old-world stories..with the latest..intelligence. 1880 S. Walpole Hist. Eng. III. 296 The Liberals set themselves to trump his [Peel's] best cards. |
II. † 3. trump in (one's) way (cf. trump n.2 2 b): a. trans. To cast in one's way as a hindrance or obstruction; in quot. 1553, to allege against one (cf. 5 b). Obs.
| 1553 Bale Gardiner's De vera Obed. H j b, And that, that is fondly layed to the husbandes charge after he is divorced, because he perfourmed not his promyse, that he ought not to haue made: shall that..be..earnestly tromped in my waye? 1583 Golding Calvin on Deut. vi. 34 To ouercome all that euer the deuill trumpeth in our way. 1607 Schol. Disc. agst. Antichr. i. iv. 178 Sathan is suffered to trompe hinderances in their way. |
b. intr. To get in one's way; to obstruct or impede one. Obs.
| 1570 Foxe A. & M. (ed. 2) 1146/2 But here now commeth Syr Thomas More trumpyng in our way. 1650 Weldon Crt. Jas. I 53 For all their setting their Cards..to their owne advantages.., there was one Knave in the Packe would cousen their designes, and Trump in their way. |
† 4. To impose or thrust (something) upon a person. Obs.
| 1694 Leslie Short Meth. w. Deists (1699) 3 Authors have been Trump'd upon us, Interpolated and Corrupted. a 1704 T. Brown Dial. Dead, Reas. Oaths Wks. 1711 IV. 96 There are abundance of ill-affected Men..that have trumped that unlucky Card upon the Dr. a 1716 South Serm. (1727) VI. 104 A sort of odd ill-natur'd Men, whom neither Hopes nor Fears..can prevail upon to have any..forlorn..Kinswomen of any Lord or Grandee..trump'd upon them. |
b. intr. ? To impose upon. Obs. rare.
| a 1716 South Serm. (1727) IV. 384 Fit for nothing but to be trumped and trampled upon, to be led by the Nose. |
5. trump up (trans.). † a. ? To put (one) off with. Obs. rare—1.
| 1634 Massinger Very Woman ii. iii, Hang honesty! Trump me not up with ‘honesty’! |
† b. To bring up, bring forward, allege. Obs.
| 1697 T. Smith in Lett. Lit. Men (Camden) 252 When the Benedictine Monks were so busy to trump up old charters of exemption and priveleges. a 1704 T. Brown Laconics Wks. 1711 IV. 14 The Cavaliers..us'd to trump up the 12th of the Romans upon the Parliament; the Parliament trump'd it upon the Army. 1710 Palmer Proverbs 333 Necessity is trump'd up for a plea. 1712 Addison Spect. No. 507 ¶2 To husband a lie, and trump it up in some extraordinary emergency. 1772 Town & Country Mag. 128 B[olland] trumped up an imaginary debt against him. |
c. To get up or devise in an unscrupulous way; to forge, fabricate, invent.
| 1695 W. W. Colbatch's New Lt. Chirurg. Put out 64 His Pouder being..disgraced, he was obliged to trump up another Medicine to supply its Defect. 1726 C. D'Anvers Craftsman No. 3 (1727) 22 They..forewarn us to beware of impostures trumpt up in imitation of their approved remedies. a 1774 Tucker Lt. Nat. (1834) II. 328 Their very existence is mere hypothesis, trumped up to serve a turn. 1794 Godwin Cal. Williams 277 If..those servants could trump up such accusations. 1809 Malkin Gil Blas iv. vii. ¶16 You have trumped up a cock-and-bull story. 1885 Howells Silas Lapham viii, She had not..courage to confess..why she had come, but trumped up an excuse. |
Hence trumped (trʌmpt) ppl. a. (only in trumped-up, in sense 5 c).
| 1728 Fielding Love in Several Masques v. xii. 76, I know my Title to be secure, it must be some trumped-up Cheat. 1777 Sixteenth Ode of Third Bk. Horace Imit. 21 A Pamphlet fill'd with trump'd-up stories. 1800 Coleridge Wallenst. ii. iii, A trumped up Spanish story. 1878 R. B. Smith Carthage 302 Three hundred..youths were thrown into prison..on a trumped-up charge. |