▪ I. trip, n.1
(trɪp)
Also 5 tryp, 5–7 trippe, 6 tryppe, 7–8 tripp.
[f. trip v.]
(The order of the senses here is not chronological, but follows that of the verb.)
I. 1. a. The action or an act of tripping or moving lightly and quickly; a light lively movement of the feet; tripping gait or tread; the sound of this.
| 1600 in Bodenham Eng. Helicon O iij, More fine in trip, then foote of running Roe. 1694 Dryden Love Triumph. iv. i, Yonder comes Dalinda; I know her by her trip. 1747 R. Forbes Lyon in Mourning (1895) I. 117 Some..used to take a dance in the cabin..they could not prevail with her to take a trip. 1814 Scott Wav. xxxvii, He sometimes could distinctly hear the trip of a light female step. 1871 B. Taylor Faust (1875) I. xxii. 200 How each his legs in nimble trip, Lifts up and makes a clearance. |
† b. spec. A kind of step in dancing.
Obs.| 1599 B. Jonson Cynthia's Rev. ii. iv, Both the swimme and the trip are properly mine, euery body will affirme it, that has any iudgement in dancing. |
† c. fig. app. A step
towards accomplishing something.
Obs. rare.
| 1682 Bunyan Holy War 6 The King..takes them in the very nick and first tripp that they made towards their design, convicts them of the treason [etc.]. |
2. fig. in the trip of a minute, in the movement or passage of a minute, in a minute's space.
| 1728 Vanbr. & Cib. Prov. Husb. iv. i. 59 They'll whip it up, in the Trip of a Minute. 1899 Literature 25 Nov. 515/1 Mr. Zangwill's [prologue] has caught the ‘trip’ of the old fashioned prologue. |
3. A short voyage or journey; a ‘run’. Apparently originally a sailor's term, but very soon extended to a journey on land.
a. A short voyage or run of a ship, between two points, or to a point and back again; each of a series of short runs made by a ship or boat; hence also, a short voyage in a ship.
| 1691 T. H[ale] Acc. New Invent. 12 [A vessel pronounced] not to be fit for her being adventured to Sea..for more than a small tripp. Ibid. 15 Making a Tripp for England. 1743 Bulkeley & Cummins Voy. S. Seas 106 After three or four Trips return'd, and anchor'd where we came from. 1754 Richardson Grandison IV. lvi, It will be what mariners call a trip to England. 1769 Cook Voy. round World ii. i. (1773) 293 The little boat was obliged to make three trips before we could all get over to the rest of the party. 1773 Life N. Frowde 81 We were one Voyage to Dantzic and Hamburgh, another to Copenhagen and Stockholm,..During all these Trips, my Polly and I wrote to each other. 1852 Mrs. Stowe Uncle Tom's C. xxxi, The good steamer Pirate, which lay at the levee, ready for a trip up the Red River. 1867 Smyth Sailor's Word-bk., Trip, an outward bound passage or short voyage, particularly in the coasting trade. 1879 Froude Caesar xvi. 270 Two trips were required to transport the increased numbers. |
b. A short journey or run on land;
esp. each of a series of journeys or runs over a particular route.
(The meaning in
quot. c 1440 is doubtful.)
| [c 1440 York Myst. xviii. 133 An aungell..bad me flee With hym and þe On-to Egipte. And sertis I dred me sore To make my smale trippe.] 1699 W. Dampier Voy. II. iii. viii. 94, I pass'd the Isthmus twice, and was 23 days in the last Trip that I made over it. 1706 E. Ward Wooden World Diss. (1708) 53 If ever he make a Trip by Land, it's a Wonder. 1856 Kane Arct. Expl. II. xvi. 169 The food I could bring from the vessel by occasional trips with my dog-team. 1901 Daily News 3 Jan. 6/4 These two men work on eight-trip shifts, each trip consisting of an eastward and westward journey. 1906 Ibid. 22 Dec. 6 The 'bus-driver..is paid by ‘trip’, and anxious to get his trips done. |
c. A short journey (by sea or land) for pleasure or health, an excursion (more fully
pleasure trip); in later use often applied to such a journey whatever its length. Also applied to a passage by rail provided at a fare lower than the usual; a
cheap trip, an excursion;
occas. short for ‘party of trippers’ or ‘trip-train’.
This arose imperceptibly out of a or b, and it is not easy to fix its first use.
| c 1749 Lady Luxborough Lett. to Shenstone (1775) 159 If you would take a trip to this little Retreat at this melancholy season. 1774 Goldsm. Nat. Hist. (1776) I. 152 A passage over the Alps, or a journey across the Pyrenees, appear pretty trips or excursions, in the comparison. 1812 Religionism 25 Lectureship Will meet th' expences of a country trip. 1861 Thornbury Turner (1862) I. 18 Later trips to Margate made him love Kent and the sea. 1880 Sat. Rev. 2 Oct. 423/2 On inquiring..what it all means, he is told that ‘a trip is in’ from some large manufacturing town, and his peace is gone, for that day at least. 1884 Times (weekly ed.) 29 Aug. 14/1 [They] hurry off on flying trips to Kerry or Connemara. |
† d. An account or description of a journey.
Obs.| 1712 Swift Lett. Eng. Tongue Wks. 1755 II. i. 189 Those monstrous productions, which under the name of trips, spies, amusements, and other conceited appellations, have over-run us for some years past. |
e. Each run or voyage of a fishing vessel; also (
U.S.) the catch or take of fish during a single run; the proceeds of a trip in fish.
f. Mining. A train of cars run in and out of a mine as a single unit.
| 1909 in Cent. Dict. Suppl. |
g. colloq. this (or that) trip: on this (or that) particular time; on the occasion specified.
| 1746 C. Knowles Let. 19 Sept. in J. S. McLennan Louisbourg (1918) x. 174 M. le Duc with all his force shan't have Louisbourg this Trip. 1902 S. E. White Blazed Trail 188, I guess I'll let you off this trip. 1906 E. Dyson Fact'ry 'Ands ii. 18 Copped out that trip, didn't yeh? |
h. Racing. The distance from start to finish of a race.
| 1959 Times 1 June 16/7 Dan Cupid is a stocky..colt with..little on public form to prove he can get the trip. 1969 Australian 24 May 34/5 Koranui: eighth to Deep Court over 141/4f here last Sat. Looks tested at this trip from 24 yd. 1977 Cork Examiner 6 June 8/9 The highly fancied Pharly, who beat Crystal Palace three weeks ago in the Prix Lupin at Longchamp over a slightly shorter trip. |
4. Naut. A single board or reach in tacking; a tack. Also
transf. a run on land.
| 1700 T. Brown Amusem. Ser. & Com. 34, I Tack'd about, and made a Trip over Moor-fields. 1708 Constit. Watermen's Co. lxi, If any Tilt-Boat-Master..shall..turn to Windward in any of the said Boats except one Trip in each particular Reach. 1722 Capt. Ogle in Lond. Gaz. No. 6091/3 The wind took me a-head and I made two Trips. 1867 Smyth Sailor's Word-bk., Trip..also denotes a single board in plying to windward. |
5. slang (
orig. U.S.).
a. A hallucinatory experience induced by a drug,
esp. LSD.
Cf. down trip s.v. down a. 1 e.
| 1959 N. Mailer Advts. for Myself iii. 245, I took some mescaline... At the end of a long and private trip which no quick remark should try to describe, the book of The Deer Park floated into mind. 1960 J. Gelber Connection i. 23 All right, junkies. During our trip we will incorporate an allied art—the motion picture. 1966 Daily Tel. 10 Aug. 13/3 The tape-recorder picked up the horrifying moans and shrieks of one man who had made 33 pleasurable ‘trips’ with LSD and was encountering his first ‘freakout,’ or bad LSD experience. 1971 Sci. Amer. Sept. 240/3 One of the volunteers had a bad trip, entering a panicky and nearly psychotic state. 1975 I. Murdoch Word Child 301 You were under the influence. He tried to talk to you... I said you were on a trip. |
b. transf. and
fig. An experience,
esp. a stimulating one.
| 1966 Time 1 July 50 The Jefferson Airplane flies on weekends at a discothèque in Fillmore Auditorium, where projectors flash quivering, amoeba-like patterns on the walls to induce the dancers ‘to take a ‘trip’..without drugs’. 1968 L. W. Robinson Assassin (1969) xii. 128 Their passion was a long one.., as though they hated to come back, ever, from the rocking, tossing, sweet trip. 1970 Time 3 Aug. 32 Part of the message is in the drug argot that he [sc. Arthur Blessitt] raps out to his street audiences: ‘You don't need no pills. Jes' drop a little Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Christ is the ultimate, eternal trip.’ 1974 Melody Maker 13 July 3/7 The drums are bright shiny cab yellow by the way. It's a trip. 1978 G. Vidal Kalki iv. 91 On the other hand, the shop itself was not only exotic, it was a trip, as the addicts say. |
c. An activity, attitude, or state of mind,
esp. one that is delusory or self-indulgent.
Cf. ego-trip s.v. ego 5.
| 1967 Wentworth & Flexner Dict. Amer. Slang Suppl. 708/2 Trip,..any activity, outing, period of time, or way of life. Some beat and student use since c 1965. 1969 [see bit n.2 4 i]. 1970 J. Popenoe Inside Summerhill 104 It [sc. a gang] was a great power trip for the 14-year-old boy who was the leader. 1972 V. Ferdinand in A. Chapman New Black Voices 470 It's an unbelievable trip to think that the absence of quality is the cause for the exclusion of Black writers when there is so much garbage being dumped on the heads of people by white publishers. 1974 K. Millet Flying iii. 282 Hoping is a trip, and it's hopeless anyway. 1977 New Musical Express 12 Feb. 8/2 Transcribed onto paper his words may sound like a speech by a musician with delusions of grandeur, but Piazzo ain't into that trip. 1979 R. L. Simon Peking Duck xvi. 117, I shouldn't bother—politics was a sixties trip. |
II. 6. a. ‘A stroke or catch by which the wrestler supplants his antagonist’ (J.); a sudden catching of a person's foot with one's own so as to cause him to lose his balance and stumble or fall.
| 1412–20 Lydg. Chron. Troy ii. 1867 Sodeynly to make hym doun to falle, And with a trip, þrowe him on þe bake. 1530 Palsgr. 283/1 Tryppe in wrastlyng, crochet, jambet. Ibid. 762/2, I gyve one a tryppe, or caste my foote byfore hym to gyve hym a fall. 1697 Dryden Virg. Georg. ii. 776 The Groom..stript for Wrestling, smears his Limbs with Oyl, And watches with a Trip his Foe to foil. 1760–72 H. Brooke Fool of Qual. (1809) III. 20 [He] gave a slight trip to his..assailant, who instantly fell. 1825 Scott Betrothed xxxii, I knew the old De Lacy's back-trip as well as thou. |
b. fig.| c 1430 Hymns Virg. (1867) 75 Til deeþ þee caste with a trippe of dissaite. 1601 Shakes. Twel. N. v. i. 170 Or will not else thy craft so quickely grow, That thine owne trip shall be thine ouerthrow? 1660 Winstanley Eng. Worth. Pref. 3 The trips that Writers cunningly give one another. 1884 Sharman Hist. Swearing iii. 39 Socrates..held at a just appreciation the trips and sallies of Athenian manhood. |
c. In coursing: see
quots.| 1856 ‘Stonehenge’ Brit. Sports (ed. 2) i. iii. viii. §2 A Trip or Jerk occurs when a dog in attempting to kill his hare, lays hold of her but loses her again; these score half-a-point. 1890 A. R. Starr in Upland Shooting 466 The trip is an unsuccessful effort to hold a rabbit, although the greyhound may touch him, or even tumble him. |
7. a. A stumble or mis-step caused by striking one's foot against an object so as to lose one's equilibrium.
† to hang on the trip, to hang on the point of falling or toppling over (
obs.).
| 1681 Cotton Wond. Peak (ed. 4) 42 Jutting Stones that, by the Earth left bare, Hang on the trip, suspended in the air. 1687 A. Lovell tr. Thevenot's Trav. iii. 45 Elephants..are the surest footed of all Beasts of Carriage,..it is very rare to see them make a trip. 1710 Steele Tatler No. 231 ¶2 The poor Animal being now almost tired, made a second Trip. 1846 J. Baxter's Libr. Pract. Agric. (ed. 4) I. 419 If the [horse's] toe dig into the ground before the foot is firmly placed, a trifle will cause a trip and a fall. 1884 Martineau in Mem. Anna Swanwick iii. (1903) 147 A bruise which I got through a trip-up and fall upon some rough rocks. |
b. fig. Cf. trip v. 8 b, c.
| 1584 Lyly Campaspe i. ii, It is a signe by the trip of your tongue.. that you haue done that to day, which I haue not done these three dayes. (Psyllus) What is that? (Manes) Dined. 1649 G. Daniel Trinarch., Hen. IV i, The Pulse of Nature neuer giues one trip. |
c. Mil. A contrivance for tripping an enemy.
| 1862 Catal. Internat. Exhib. II. xi. 14/2 Trip for Checking Infantry and Cavalry..formed by laying the bands singly on the ground three or four feet apart, edge-wise and buttoned. |
8. A mistake, blunder; a fault; a slip, lapse; a false step; a slip of the tongue.
† to take or have in a trip (also
† to take trip), to catch tripping, to detect in an error (
obs.).
(In some cases
take in a trip seems to have been misunderstood to mean ‘take in a trap’.)
| 1548 Udall, etc. Erasm. Par. Mark x. 63 Y⊇ other desired more to take him in a trip, then to be healed: to proue him, rather then to learne. 1551 Robinson tr. More's Utop. i. (1895) 91 [To] fynde some hole open to set a snare in, wherewith to take the contrarie parte in a trippe. 1579 Fulke Refut. Rastel 725 He is taken tardie in his owne trip. 1594 J. Dickenson Arisbas (1878) 69 Thus fell Loue into a trip: Thus she galde him with a quip. 1604 N. D. 3rd Pt. Three Convers. Eng. 214 Sutcliffe, being taken trip by E. O...beateth himselfe vp and downe pittifully. 1628 Milton Vac. Exerc. 3 And mad'st imperfect words with childish tripps, Half unpronounc't, slide through my infant⁓lipps. 1773 J. Berridge Wks. (1864) 130 A trip in one point would have spoiled all. 1841 Bp. Wilberforce in Croker Papers (1884) 23 July, An occasional trip in the performance was what threw you out. |
III. 9. a. Mech. A contrivance that trips (see
trip v. 14); a projecting part of some mechanism which comes into momentary contact with another part so as to cause or check some movement. (
Cf. trip-hammer.)
| 1906 Westm. Gaz. 6 Mar. 10/1 To protect trains in foggy weather, when the arms and lights of signals are obscured, the automatic train-stop has been installed... A little arm is raised to a vertical position and strikes a trip on the front motor-car of the passing train. By this operation current is cut off. 1907 Daily Chron. 8 Aug. 2/3 In dismounting the pedal is again held against the trip, and by it the rider swings himself comfortably out of the saddle to drop on his foot as the cycle is still moving along. |
b. Nuclear Sci. (See
quots.)
| 1962 Gloss. Terms Nucl. Sci. (B.S.I.) 122 Trip, a reduction in reactor power initiated by any of the safety circuits of the reactor. 1978 Times 1 Feb. 4/7 Reactors suffer occasional unscheduled shut-downs or ‘trips’ from a wide range of causes, such as fail-safe faults on protective equipment, operator errors and faults in conventional non-nuclear equipment. |
IV. 10. attrib. and
Comb. (in some cases
perh. from the
vb.-stem); in sense 3, as
trip-card,
trip-committee,
trip-fund,
trip-mileage,
trip-taking; in sense 9, describing an appliance for catching, releasing, or actuating some part, or a machine operated by such a device, as
trip-coil,
trip-cord,
trip-cut-off,
trip-die,
trip-lever,
trip-motion,
trip-piece,
trip-pin,
trip-wagon,
trip-wheel; also
trip-bucket, a bucket used for raising water from wells in Arabia, operated by a tripping device and pulled by animals;
trip-catch, a catch which holds the trip or releasing device until it is tripped;
† trip-coat, ? a turn-coat;
tripcock, a device on a train which applies the brakes when engaged by a projection on the track, if the train is passing a signal set at danger;
trip-dial, in a cyclometer, a dial on which the mileage of each trip is registered;
trip-engine, a steam-engine having a
trip valve-gear (
Cent. Dict. Suppl. 1909);
trip-gear, short for
trip valve-gear (
Cent. Dict. 1891);
trip-hook, some instrument of torture (
perh. an error;
cf. gadge n.);
trip-line, in
Lumbering, a light line attached to the dog-hook, or to a cable, by which these are recovered or returned;
tripmeter, an instrument which may be set to record the distance travelled by a vehicle during each trip; similarly
trip (mileage) counter,
trip (distance, mileage) recorder;
trip money: see
quot.;
trip-rate, the rate of payment by the trip: see
trip-system;
trip-shaft: see
quot.;
trip-sill: see
quot.;
trip slip, a strip of paper in which a car conductor registers the number of fares taken on each trip (
U.S.);
trip switch Electr. Engin. (see
quot. 1924);
trip system, a system of payment of men in charge of a train, omnibus, or the like by the trip or journey;
† trip-taker, one who ‘takes another in a trip’, a fault-finder;
trip-train, a mineral train which is intended to make a certain number of trips, out and home, in the day; also, an excursion train;
trip valve-gear, a valve-gear in which the steam is cut off by the tripping of a lever which holds open the steam-valve. See also
trip-hammer.
| 1926 T. E. Lawrence Seven Pillars (1935) xxxix. 229 He told me of the wheel over the well, with its machinery of leathern *trip-buckets, raised by oxen upon an inclined path of hard-trodden earth. 1959 W. Thesiger Arabian Sands x. 190 Villagers in the Hadhramaut use camels and oxen to raise the trip-buckets from which they water their cultivation. |
| 1897 Outing (U.S.) XXX. 492/2 Road-rides are scheduled on cards distributed among the members. These *trip-cards are a commendable feature. |
| 1880 Tolhausen tr. Uhland's Corliss-Engines 193 The edge of a *trip-catch fastened on the eccentric strap, will approximately move on an elliptical path, and trip up against a steel catch-plate fastened on the extremity of the inlet valve-spindle. |
| a 1619 Fletcher Mad Lover i. i, Twenty of your *trip-coats turn their tippets. |
| 1906 Railway Mag. Apr. 341/2 These automatic signals have a trigger, which, when the signal is at danger, should engage with a *trip cock on the vehicles of the train. 1968 O. S. Nock Railway Enthusiasts' Encycl. vii. 274 Co-acting with each stop signal is a train stop, mounted beside the track... When the signal is at danger, the arm is raised. If a train overran a signal..a trip cock lever would strike the raised train stop arm. |
| 1903 Trans. Amer. Inst. Elect. Engin. 657 (Cent. Supp.) *Trip-coil. |
| 1959 Motor Manual (ed. 36) vii. 195 Another difference with the *trip counter is that it may be set to zero at any time. 1977 Westworld (Vancouver, B.C.) May–June 34/2 This gradual phasing-in of the changes means that by 1978 all instrumentation, speedometers, odometers and tripcounters will be entirely converted [to metric]. |
| 1884 Knight Dict. Mech. Supp., *Trip Cut Off, an arrangement to disconnect one portion of the valve motion from the other, so as to allow the cut-off valve to close with great rapidity. |
| 1907 Daily Chron. 27 Mar. 9/5 For all-round purposes a double cyclometer with ‘*trip’ dial is preferable. |
| 1955 Motor 7 Dec. 765/1 (caption) *Trip distance recorder re-setting (twist). |
| 1884 Pall Mall G. 11 Sept. 4/1 At the mills and workshops..weekly payments are received towards the *trip fund... The tickets are supplied..a fortnight beforehand, the trip committee being responsible for the issue and the payment of those actually used. |
| 1846 Browning Soul's Trag. i. 333 The glowing *triphook, thumbscrew and the gadge. |
| 1904 Sci. Amer. Suppl. 23 July 23880 On this stem is fixed a *trip lever, C, which holds B against A by the spring, D. |
| 1905 U.S. Dept. Agric., Logging terms, *Trip-line, a light rope attached to a dog hook, used to free the latter when employed in breaking a jam... Syn. throw line. Ibid., Haul back, a light wire rope..used to return the cable. Syn...trip line. |
| 1966 T. Wisdom High-Performance Driving xi. 114 A driver..may..exchange his present speedo for a similar one with a *trip meter. 1972 O. Sela Bearer Plot xxi. 134 Elmer hunched over the bicycling machine... The tripmeter read 5.2 kilometres. |
| 1909 Westm. Gaz. 17 June 4/2 The Jones Speedometer..registers up to sixty miles an hour, and is fitted with season and *trip mileage. |
| 1959 Motor Manual (ed. 36) vii. 195 When a *trip mileage counter is also fitted this will be constructed on similar lines to the main counter. |
| 1962 Times 8 May 16/5 The car is well equipped, and noteworthy points include..a *trip mileage recorder, brake servo warning light, twin screenwashers. 1970 Motoring Which? Apr. 55/1 All six cars had a speedometer, mileage recorder, trip mileage recorder, fuel gauge. |
| 1891 Labour Commission Gloss. s.v. Money, *Trip money, a term used on canals to mean a payment in addition to tonnage; a bonus given in addition to wages. |
| 1907 Daily Chron. 27 Mar. 9/6 The ‘Little *Trip Motion’. 1908 Ibid. 6 June 8/3 The trip motion.. consists of a catch which holds the cranks and pedals at a certain position. |
| 1901 Westm. Gaz. 25 Nov. 8/3 Their grievance is that *trip rates paid them are inadequate, and do not admit of a fair wage. |
| 1966 T. Wisdom High-Performance Driving xi. 114 Few speedometers these days are fitted with *trip recorders. 1977 Daily Tel. 14 Dec. 12/6 Instruments include a rev. counter, speedometer trip recorder, and large clock. |
| 1864 Webster, *Trip-shaft, (Steam eng.), a supplementary rock-shaft, worked by hand, for starting an engine. |
| 1905 U.S. Dept. Agric., Logging terms, *Tripsill, a timber placed across the bottom of the sluiceway in a splash dam, against which rest the planks by which the dam is closed. |
| 1876 Scribner's Monthly Apr. 910/2 The conductor, when he receives a fare, will immediately punch in the presence of the passenger, A Blue *trip slip for an 8 cent fare. a 1884 Trip-slip [see bell-punch s.v. bell n.1 12]. |
| 1924 S. R. Roget Dict. Electr. Terms 275/2 *Trip Switch, a switch for closing the tripping circuit of a circuit breaker. 1977 Times 15 July 8/5 The British system includes a series of trip switches, making it a simple matter for the engineer watching the various loads at any time to isolate a power failure. |
| 1894 Labour Commission Gloss. s.v., The *trip system on railways is the equivalent of the piece-work system in productive industries. |
| 1556 Robinson tr. More's Utopia (Arb.) 35 margin, *Triptakers. |
| 1897 Daily News 31 May 2/7 The second and fourth weeks in June being very largely given up to *trip-taking and rejoicing. |
| 1894 Labour Commission Gloss. s.v. Trip System, The men working a *trip train are paid a full week's wages. 1907 Daily News 28 June 6 He had come by a trip train to Skegness. |
| 1903 Electr. Rev. 8 Aug. 197 Engines with Corliss *trip-valve gear driven by separate eccentrics. |
| 1874 Raymond Statist. Mines & Mining 405 From these the chargers can take the ore in quantities to suit. A *trip-wagon, holding one charge, is generally used. |
| 1877 Ibid. 429 A fan B, to give the puffs of air; a *trip-wheel, lever, and spring to operate the fan. |
▪ II. trip, n.2 Also 4
tryppe, 5
tripe, 5–6
trippe, 6
Sc. trype, 7
tripp.
[Etymology obscure: perh. related to troop.] † 1. A troop or company of men.
Obs. rare.
(
App. in contemptuous use.)
| c 1330 R. Brunne Chron. (1810) 203 Me þouht kyng Philip inouh was disconfite, Whan he & alle his trip [orig. tut sun hoste] for nouht fled so tite. a 1578 Lindesay (Pitscottie) Chron. Scot. (S.T.S.) II. 157 Think not it wilbe ane trype [v.r. troup] of men of weir of France that will..conqueis this realme. |
2. a. A small flock (of goats, sheep, hares, etc.).
Obs. exc. local.
| 1305 [implied in tripherd]. a 1400 Sir Perc. 186 Scho..with hir tuke a tryppe of gayte, With mylke of thame for to bayte To hir lyves fode. c 1410 Master of Game (MS. Digby 182) v, Þat men calle a trippe of tame swyne, and of wylde swyne it is called a soundre. c 1470 in Hors, Shepe, & G. etc. (Caxton 1479, Roxb. repr.) 31 A Trippe of gete. A Trippe of hares. c 1470 Henryson Mor. Fab. iv. xix. Ibid. v. (Parl. Beasts) xxxvi, Ane trip of lambis dansing on ane dyke. Ibid. vii. (Lion & Mouse) i, Ane trip of myis..Richt tait and trig, all dansand in ane gyis. 1513 Douglas æneis iii. iv. 24 Trippis eik of gait, but ony keipar, In the rank gersis pasturing on raw. 1556 Withals Dict. (1568) 14 b/2 A flocke or trippe of goates. 1575 Turberv. Venerie 235 Huntesmen vse to saye an Heard of harts and hindes, buckes and does: and a Trippe of Gotes and Geates. 1584 in Five Crt. Rolls Gt. Cressingham, Norfolk (ed. Chandler 1885) 80 A certeyn trippe of sheep. 1674 Ray S. & E.C. Words. 77 A Trip of sheep i.e. a few sheep, Norf. 1807 Vancouver Agric. Devon (1813) 101 They are generally owners of trips or small flocks of sheep, depastured upon Exmoor. a 1905 in Eng. Dial. Dict. (Norfolk), I ha' got a trip of sheep. |
b. A small flock of wild-fowl.
| 1805 A. Mackintosh Driffield Angler 294 Trip of dotterel. 1826 P. Hawker Diary (1893) I. 291 A fine trip of wigeon. 1859 H. C. Folkard Wild-Fowler liii. 276 Trip after trip [of wild-fowl] passes over his head in rapid succession. 1893 Daily News 28 Feb. 5/4 Wild ducks..are seen hurrying across the lawn with large ‘trips’ of young ones. |
3. Comb. † tripherd, a goatherd, or shepherd.
| 1305 Compotus of Bolton Abbey in Whitaker Hist. Craven (1805) 330 In pane pro triphyrdes sarculant' metent'. 1317 Ibid. 338 Pro Tripherds. |
▪ III. † trip, n.3 Obs. In 4–5 also
trippe,
trype,
trep.
[Derivation uncertain.] a. ? A piece of rind of cheese.
b. E. Angl. dial.: see
quots. a 1825, 1849.
| c 1386 Chaucer Sompn. T. 39 Yif hym a busshel whete Malt or Reye A goddes kechyl or a trype [v.rr. trip, -pe, trep] of chese. 1823 Moor Suffolk Words s.v., ‘Is that a cream cheese?’ ‘No, it is only a trip.’ a 1825 Forby Voc. E. Anglia, Trip, s., a small cheese, made in summer, to be eaten in its soft and curdy state, or it soon becomes dry, tough, and uneatable. 1849 Raynbird Agric. Suffolk 301 Trip..differs from cream-cheeses as having no cream in, and being thicker. |
▪ IV. † trip, n.4 Obs. rare.
[Cf. thrip (a 1700).] Threepence.
| 1600 T. Hill Art Vulgar Arith. iii. x. 261 b, The same Vingtin is woorth our trip or English 3d. |
▪ V. trip, v. (
trɪp)
Also 4
trep, 4–6
tryp(pe, 4–7
trippe, 5
Sc. treip, 6
trype, 6–8
tripe, 8
tripp, 9
dial. thrip.
[a. OF. treper, triper, tripper (12th c. in Godef.) to strike (the ground) with the foot in sign of joy or of impatience, to leap, dance, also to trample or strike with the feet; in Cotgr. ‘to hop, skip, trip, or foot it up and downe; also to stampe, trample on, tread under foot’; = Pr. trepar to hop, spring (Diez); of Lower Frankish origin: cf. MDu. trippen (Kilian, Du. trippelen) to skip, trip, hop, LG. trippen, trippeln, Fris. tripje; in ablaut relation with Du. trappen, G. trappen, trappeln, in OE. treppan to tread, trample: cf. G. treppe step.] I. To tread or step lightly or nimbly.
1. intr. To move lightly and nimbly on the feet; to skip, caper; to dance;
† of a horse: to caper, prance (
obs. rare—1).
arch.| c 1386 Chaucer Miller's T. 142 In twenty manere koude he trippe [v.r. trip] and daunce After the scole of Oxenford[e] tho. ― Sqr.'s T. 304 This hors anoon bigan to trippe [v.r. tryppe] and daunce. c 1430 Pilgr. Lyf Manhode iv. ix. (1869) 180, j carolle, j trippe, j daunce. c 1560 A. Scott Poems (S.T.S.) v. 9 Now in May to madynis fawis With tymmer wechtis to trip in ringis. 1598 Shakes. Merry W. v. v. 97 About him (Fairies) sing a scornfull rime, And as you trip, still pinch him to your time. 1610 ― Temp. iv. i. 46 Each one tripping on his Toe, Will be here with mop, and mowe. c 1633 Milton Arcades 99 Nymphs and Shepherds dance no more..Trip no more in twilight ranks. 1796 R. P. Knight in New Ann. Reg., Poetry 152 No fairies now, or dapper elves are seen, By Fancy's eye, light-tripping o'er the green. 1849 James Woodman ii, He found the young sisters..tripping in the green wood with the fairies of nights. |
b. intr. with
it.
| 1579 Lyly Euphues (Arb.) 115 If [she have] no cunning to daunce, request her to trippe it, if no skill in musicke, profer hir the Lute. 1632 Milton L'Allegro 33 Com, and trip it as ye go On the light fantastick toe. 1712 Arbuthnot John Bull iv. viii, The Family tripped it about, and capered like hail-stones bounding from a marble floor. 1833 H. Martineau Brooke Farm ix. 112 The young folks tripped it away on the grass. |
† c. transf. Of the heart: To beat excitedly.
Obs.| c 1430 Pilgr. Lyf Manhode ii. cvi. (1869) 115 Myn herte hoppeth for ioye, and lepeth and trippeth. |
† d. trans. To step or tread on.
Obs. rare.
| c 1380 Sir Ferumb. 241 Garyn his gode stede hym fette, Þat was in spaygne iboȝt; Þe erld lep vp wyþ oute lette, His styrop trepede he noȝt. |
2. trans. a. To perform (a dance) with a light lively step.
rare.
| 1627 Drayton Nymphidia xli, Eu'ry Mayde..The Horne⁓pype neatly tripping. 1660 F. Brooke tr. Le Blanc's Trav. 406 They dance and trip Moresco Sarabrands to them again. 1812 Lady Nairne Caller Herrin in R. Ford Harp Perthshire (1893) 112 He can trip the spring fu' tightly. |
b. To tread lightly and nimbly, dance upon.
| 1749 Shenstone Irregular Ode 72 The sportive graces trip the green. 1808 A. Sharpe in R. Ford Harp Perthshire (1893) 93 Ghosts of the slain trip Corunna's lone shore. 1887 P. M'Neill Blawearie 43 Nannie had been a short time at the dance, and had tripped the floor with both the joiner and the blacksmith. |
3. intr. To go, walk, skip, or run with a light and lively motion; to move with a quick light tread; also with
it, and in
phr. † to trip and go.
| ? a 1400 Morte Arth. 3713 Alle trompede they trippe one trappede stedys. c 1470 Henryson Mor. Fab. v. (Parl. Beasts) xi, The lark, the maueis..treipand fra tre to tre. 1576 Fleming Panopl. Epist. 405 That you should in stormy weather, and durtie wayes,..come tripping to mee in your silcken sleppers. 1579 Gosson Sch. Abuse (Arb.) 25 Trype and goe, for I dare not tarry. 1588 Shakes. L.L.L. iv. ii. 144 Trip and goe, my sweete, deliuer this Paper into the hand of the King. 1712 Tickell Spect. No 410 ¶1, I dismissed my Coach at the Gate, and tripped it down to my Counsel's Chambers. 1870 Rock Text. Fabr. i. 240 Hares tripping within a park. 1883 S. C. Hall Retrospect II. 173 She..tripped before us up the stairs to the drawing-room. |
b. transf. and
fig.| 1662 Stillingfl. Orig. Sacræ iii. i. §18 We see..with what facility the mind..trips over mountains, crosseth the ocean. a 1774 Tucker Lt. Nat. (1834) II. 126 Vanity..mingles among our vital juices, trips along the tongue, dances upon the eyes. 1854 Alford in Life (1873) 237 So many notes tripped backwards and forwards between us. 1884 W. C. Smith Kildrostan 86 There's a nice breeze tripping on the Loch. |
c. Angling. See
quots.| 1867 F. Francis Angling i (1883) 8 The line [is] plumbed, so that the float shall carry the hook just off the bottom, now and then perhaps touching it, or ‘tripping’. Ibid. ii. (1880) 66 The right depth..for the worm to trip or drag slowly over the bottom. |
d. quasi-trans. = run v. 37 a.
| 1850 Blackie æschylus II. 64 Far liefer would I lackey this bare rock Than trip the messages of Father Jove. |
4. trans. To cause to trip or go nimbly; to send
forth trippingly.
| 1598 E. Guilpin Skial. (1878) 20 Come trip the dice, haue at you box (Madame) Ile cast at all. 1616–61 B. Holyday Persius (1673) 294 His dainty palate tripping forth his words. 1901 ‘Zack’ Dunstable Weir 191 When her zot under the big fig tree, thripping her lace-bobbins in and out. |
5. intr. a. To make a trip or short excursion. Also
to trip it.
| 1664 G. Etherege Comical Revenge Prol., If you shou'd, we and our Comedies Must trip to Norwich, or for Ireland go. 1699 J. Dunton Life & Err. (1818) II. 613 The gentleman who tripped lately to Ireland. 1767 H. Walpole Let. to G. Montagu 31 July, I shall trip to Paris in about a fortnight. 1878 M. C. Jackson Chaperon's Cares I. xiii. 177 Persuaded Mr. Kirke to trip it to Brighton for the good of his health. 1892 Besant in Illustr. Lond. News Summer No. 1 The trippers have not yet begun to trip. |
b. slang (
orig. U.S.). To experience hallucinations induced by a drug,
esp. LSD. Also with
out. Also
transf. Cf. trip n.1 5 a.
| 1966 [see psychedelic n. 2]. 1968 Globe & Mail (Toronto) 3 Feb. 25/1 ‘Trip with us,’ coaxes Duke Edwards in a sandy voice... ‘Trip with us—without the aid of LSD.’ 1969 Daily Tel. 4 Sept. 23/2 He was asked if he took LSD, and answered: ‘I have been tripping for three weeks.’ 1971 [see mandy, mandy]. 1976 H. Ferguson Confessions of Long Distance Acid Head 13 The bunch with whom I used to trip out and smoke pot with were form-mates of my brother. 1980 J. Scott Gospel Lamb iii. 45 Some of the people here were tripping already. Seemed a pity not to bust 'em. |
II. To strike with the foot so as to cause stumbling (and derived senses).
(
App. an English development of sense.)
6. trans. To cause to stumble or fall by suddenly arresting or catching the foot; ‘to throw by striking the feet from the ground by a sudden motion; to strike the feet from under the body’ (J.). Also with
up,
† down. Often with the heels, foot, etc., as object,
esp. in the phrase
to trip up one's heels.
| c 1425 Cast. Persev. 3426 in Macro Plays 179 He wende þat he schulde a levyd ay, tyl dethe trypte hym on his daunce. 1530 Palsgr. 762/2 Why dyd you tryppe him as he was ronnyng? 1592 Greene Art Conny Catch. iii. 32 The other following tript vp his heeles. 1592 Shakes. Ven. & Ad. 722 The earth, in love with thee, thy footing trips. 1605 Shakes. Lear i. iv. 95 Ste. Ile not be strucken, my Lord. Kent. Nor tript neither, you base Foot-ball plaier. Ibid. ii. ii. 32, 126. 1627 Drayton Nymphidia lvii, A Stump doth trip him in his pace, Downe comes poore Hob vpon his face. a 1653 Gouge Comm. Hebr. xi. 20 (1655) iii. 84 The verb..signifieth to supplant, or to trip down, which is oft done with the heel. 1711 Addison Spect. No. 42 ¶1 The right adjusting of her Train, lest it should chance to trip up her Heels. 1786 F. Burney Diary 13 Aug., I have come on prodigiously..in the power and skill of walking backwards, without tripping up my own heels. 1828 Scott F.M. Perth iv, Henry Smith, parrying the blow.., tripping him at the same time, gave him a severe fall. 1884 Browning Ferishtah, Shah Abbas 144 What lay on floor to trip your foot? |
b. fig. or in
fig. context.
| a 1548 Hall Chron., Hen. VI 122 b, The Frenchmen..determined to trippe and deceiue them by their accustomed seruaunt, called master Treason. 1551 Bp. Gardiner Explic., Transubstantiation 109 b, There was neuer man tryppyd himselfe more hansomely to take a fall, then this auctour doth. 1597 Shakes. 2 Hen. IV, v. ii. 87 To trip the course of Law, and blunt the Sword That guards the peace. 1653 Holcroft Procopius ii. 29 The former fight, wherein not our cowardise, but some cross fortune tript us. a 1774 Tucker Lt. Nat. (1834) II. 118 The free-thinker..loves to pick holes..to trip up an adversary at unawares. 1872 Blackie Lays Highl. 62 Hasty winter..Came, and tripped the summer's heels. |
(
b)
spec. in
U.S. Sport, to defeat.
| 1974 State (Columbia, S. Carolina) 15 Feb. 6-b/2 The Generals got goals from Mike Gaines and Eddie Hewbrank in the second overtime to trip Airport, 2–0. 1979 Honolulu Advertiser 8 Jan. c–2/4 In Rural AJA games, Wahiawa tripped Pearl Ridge 7–5. |
† c. intr. to trip at: to attempt to trip or overthrow.
Obs. rare.
| 1633 Heywood Eng. Trav. v. Wks. 1874 IV. 87 Though their riots tript at my estate, They haue not quite ore⁓throwne it. |
† d. trans. to trip off: to throw off.
Obs. rare.
| 1674 N. Fairfax Bulk & Selv. 173 At the very time of my writing this, Half..should be fairly tript off. |
e. In coursing: see
quot., and
cf. trip n.1 6 c.
| 1859 Stonehenge Brit. Sports (ed. 4) i. iii. viii. §2 A tripping or jerking the hare to be reckoned one point... It has been said, when a hare is tripped or jerked that the dog ought to have held her. |
7. To overthrow by catching in a fault or blunder; to detect in an inconsistency or inaccuracy.
| 1557 N. T. (Genev.) John xv. 20 note, To be diligent to espie fautes to trippe one in. 1586 J. Hooker Hist. Irel. in Holinshed II. 105/1 Being tript by the councell in his tale, was committed to the Fleet. 1611 Shakes. Cymb. v. v. 35 These her Women Can trip me, if I erre. a 1625 Fletcher Noble Gent. iii. i, He must..Be a better States⁓man than yourself that can Trip me in anything. |
8. intr. To strike the foot against something, so as to hop, stagger, or fall; to stumble
over an obstacle; to make a false step.
| c 1440 Promp. Parv. 503/1 Tryppyn, or stoomelyn, cespito. 1530 Palsgr. 762/2 My horse stombled nat, he dyd but tryppe a lytell. 1579 G. Harvey Let. to Spenser Wks. (Grosart) I. 23 A good horse that trippeth not once in a iourney. 1637 Heywood Dial. Wks. 1874 VI. 291 Run not so fast, lest thou shouldst trip perhaps. a 1760 I. H. Browne Design & Beauty Poems (1768) 100 Tumblers trip but to conceal their art. 1833 Marryat P. Simple xvii, I tripped over my sword, and nearly fell on my nose. 1867 Trollope Chron. Barset II. xlix. 61 He would have tripped at the upward step at the cathedral door had she not been with him. |
| fig. 1581 Mulcaster Positions xxxvii. (1887) 150 Neither will I touch the other two, vnles I fortune to trip vpon them by chaunce. a 1716 South Serm. (1744) XI. 167 They may sometimes out of infirmity trip into a perjury, a murder or an adultery. |
b. Said of the tongue: To stumble in articulation; to falter in speaking.
| 1526 Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 163 b, To saye his seruyce with stoppynge & tryppynge of tonge. 1598 Drayton Heroic. Ep. ii. 9 With the earnest Haste, my Tongue oft trips. 1690 Locke Hum. Und. iii. x. §33 Drinking..till his Tongue trips, and his Eyes look red, and his Feet fail him. 1706 Phillips (ed. Kersey), To Trip, to stumble with the Feet, or falter with the Tongue. |
c. Horology. Of an escape-wheel: To fail to release itself from the pallet; see also
quot. 1850
s.v. tripping vbl. n. 2.
| 1850–79 [see tripping vbl. n. 2]. 1884 F. J. Britten Watch & Clockm. 89 Gravity escapements were rather regarded with suspicion as having a tendency to trip. |
9. intr. To fall into an error; to make a mistake or false step; to commit a fault, inconsistency, or inaccuracy.
| 1509 Barclay Shyp of Folys (1570) 39 Thy finger lay before thy lips, For a wise mans tonge without aduisement trips. 1584 B. R. tr. Herodotus i. 37 b, Least he were taken vp for triping and conuicted of a lye. 1726 Swift Gulliver iv. xi, After many endeavours to catch me tripping in some part of my story [etc.]. 1864 Tennyson Grandmother vii, Jenny had tript in her time. 1871 Tyndall Fragm. Sc. (1879) II. vii. 93 How I rejoiced when I found an author tripping. |
III. † 10. Naut. intr. To tack.
Obs. rare.
| 1687 A. Lovell tr. Thevenot's Trav. ii. 188 Thus did we trip to and again in that Streight, the wind continually shifting and turning. |
11. Naut. trans. To loose (an anchor) from its bed and raise it clear of the bottom by the cable or a buoy rope. Also
intr. for pass.| 1748 Anson's Voy. ii. i. 112 We..set the sails, which fortunately tripped the anchor. 1797 S. James Narr. Voy., etc. 16 We tripped our small bower. 1825 H. B. Gascoigne Nav. Fame 50 A greater force each steady shoulder plys, The Anchor Trips, and from the mud does rise. 1840 R. H. Dana Bef. Mast xxv, Everything was sheeted home and hoisted up, the anchor tripped and cat-headed, and the ship under headway. 1882 Nares Seamanship (ed. 6) 199 Sail must be made before tripping the anchor. 1903 Union Mag. Oct. 447/1 The usual plan is to take in the chain till it is straight up and down and then to trip the anchor by paying the boat off. |
12. trans. To tilt;
spec. Naut. to give (a yard) the necessary cant in sending it down; also, to lift (an upper mast) in order that it may be lowered.
| 1840 R. H. Dana Bef. Mast xxiii, [The royal yards] were all tripped and lowered together. 1841 ― Seaman's Man., Tripping Line, a line used for tripping a topgallant or royal yard in sending it down. 1886 Encycl. Brit. XXI. 821/1 (Ship-building) The chain then draws the bolt, and in falling trips the cradle from under the bottom. |
13. intr. To tilt or tip up; of the floors of a ship, to be strained or twisted out of their horizontal position.
| 1869 E. J. Reed Shipbuild. ii. 23 The floors are comparatively free to trip, by the keelson riding along the keel. 1874 Thearle Naval Archit. 72 The hogging strains peculiar to long, narrow ships tend to produce a tripping of the floors; or an alteration in the form of the space..enclosed by keel, keelson, and floors. 1888 Elworthy W. Somerset Word-bk., Trip, v. i. to move on a pivot or fulcrum. A paving stone not evenly bedded when stepped upon is apt to log—this is to trip. |
14. trans. To release (a catch, lever, or the like) by contact with a projection; to operate (a mechanism) in this way. Also more widely, to cause to operate or respond;
spec. in
Electronics, to cause (a bistable device) to change from one stable state to the other;
to trip out, to render electrically disconnected,
esp. as an automatic action.
Cf. trip n.1 9.
| 1897 Daily News 4 Nov. 6/4 An automatic parachute was to spread itself to make the descent and ‘trip’ the camera as it gracefully came to earth. 1936 Sun (Baltimore) 25 Jan. 5/8 It was eleven minutes after the electrical apparatus operating the gas generating equipment was tripped before physicians pronounced Foster dead. 1937 Rev. Sci. Instruments VIII. 414/2 It is necessary that at each incident pulse the circuit shall be tripped from one equilibrium state to the other. 1950 Engineering 20 Jan. 79/3 The gap was in the form of an expulsion tube..this arrangement helping to extinguish quickly the power-follow current so that the transformer was not tripped out. 1953 C. A. Lindbergh Spirit of St. Louis ii. vi. 307, I tripped by safety-belt buckle..and rolled out over the high rim of the cockpit. 1961 Ann. Reg. 1960 396 This light in turn tripped more atoms until none were left in the excited state. 1967 Electronics 6 Mar. 126/2 When the critical temperature is reached, the resistance of the thermistor changes to allow the proper value of current to flow, and this trips a relay. 1972 P. Cleife Slick & Dead xxviii. 233 Tripping the quick-release of my harness, I leapt from my seat. 1977 Daily Tel. 25 Oct. 2/1 ‘The damn thing didn't even trip our noise meters,’ he was quoted as having said after last week's three days of test landings and take-offs at Kennedy Airport. 1978 Sci. Amer. Mar. 146/3 When I tripped the switch S1, the ouputs from Q and Q of IC 1A changed states: the Q then produced a logical-1 signal. 1981 New Scientist 29 Oct. 295/2 Another tree..in East Sussex caused a similar fault, tripping out another 400 kV supergrid line feeding the south coast. |
b. intr. Of a mechanism or the like: to undergo a sudden change of state; to operate or (also
trip out) cease to operate.
| 1940 Jrnl. Marine Res. III. 73 When each water bottle trips there will be a sufficient jar..so that the recording stylus..will make a noticeable mark on the temperature depth trace. 1950 Engineering 20 Jan. 79/3 In the 14 years under review, sub-station transformers tripped out 140 times. 1977 Times 16 July 5/8 Three main power lines..were hit by lightning... This caused four more lines to trip out as the safety devices to stop them overloading came into action. 1980 Sci. Amer. Mar. 36/1 The main feedwater pumps in the lower level of the turbine building tripped, interrupting the removal of heat from the primary system. 1981 New Scientist 29 Oct. 295/2 As other parts of the grid tripped out, power stations in the South and South-West struggled to meet what demand they could. |
15. Bot. trans. To operate the pollination mechanism of (certain flowers) by disturbing the keel so that the anthers and style spring out of it.
| 1909 Bull. Bureau Plant Industry, U.S. Dept. Agric. No. 24. 9 Only a slight pressure on the keel is necessary to trip the flower. 1930 Jrnl. Amer. Soc. Agronomy XXII. 782 The flowers were left exposed and not tripped artificially. 1978 Nature 7 Sept. 54/1 Most inbred lines show poor seed set unless their flowers are visited by bees or artificially manipulated (tripped) and are therefore called auto-sterile. |
Sense 5 b in
Dict. becomes 5 c. Add:
[5.] b. spec. To travel through bush country by dog-sled or canoe,
esp. on a trading expedition.
Canad. (chiefly
northern).
| 1820 G. Simpson Jrnl. Occurrences in Athabasca Dept. (1938) 89 McDougald who is a good trader and understands the language will be usefully occupied in tripping after the N.W. Indians. 1913 H. Footner Jack Chanty 52 Most of the time he is tripping; long hikes from Abittibi to the Skeena, and from the edge of the farming country clear to Herschel Island in the Arctic, generally alone. 1933 E. Merrick True North 251 An old trapper once said of outsiders who were tripping up Grand River, ‘Goin' to the Grand Falls fer pleasure, hey? They'd go to Hell fer a pastime.’ 1965 I. M. Reekie Along Old Melita Trail viii. 100 Men often went in parties of three or four..when ‘tripping’ to the Turtle Mountains for wood. 1971 T. Boulanger Indian Remembers 8 Sometime he was tripping to see the people. |