▪ I. trust, n.
(trʌst)
Forms: α. 3–6 truste, 3– trust; β. 4–7 trost, 5 troste. See also traist n., trest n.1, trist n.1
[Early ME. trost(e, truste, ad. ON. traust n. neut.: see trust a.]
1. a. Confidence in or reliance on some quality or attribute of a person or thing, or the truth of a statement. Const. in († of, on, upon, to, unto).
| α a 1225 Ancr. R. 274 Me haueð truste to Godes helpe þet euer is neih bute ȝif bileaue trukie. a 1240 Ureisun in Cott. Hom. 187 As mi trust is þer to hit beo mi lechunge. 13.. Guy Warw. (A.) 7242 He a lappe rent out anon Of his brini, þat alle his trust was on. 1484 Caxton Fables of Auian i, He is wel a fole that setteth his hope and truste in a woman. 1505 in Mem. Hen. VII (Rolls) 275 Don Fernando of Aragon hathe no confidens nor trust unto the Kynge of Romaynes. 1605 Stow Ann. 671 A staffe of reede, of the which there is no trust. 1611 Shakes. Wint. T. iv. iv. 607 Ha, ha, what a Foole Honestie is! and Trust (his sworne brother) a very simple Gentleman. 1729 Butler Serm. Wks. 1874 II. 189 To see and know and feel that our trust was not vain. 1823 Scott Quentin D. xiii, The honour and trust which were about to be reposed in him. 1860 Tyndall Glac. i. xix. 134 We had..to get round overhanging ledges, where our main trust was in our feet. |
| β 1382 Wyclif Prov. iii. 5 Haue trost in the Lord, of al thin herte. ― Isa. xxxi. 1 Hauende trost [1388 trist] vpon foure horsid carres. c 1440 Promp. Parv. 503/1 Troste, confidencia, fiducia. 1648 Hamilton Papers (Camden) 228 The trost reposid in me bi your Lordshipe. |
b. take on or upon trust (
† receive,
take up in trust,
take up upon trust), to accept or give credit to without investigation or evidence.
| 1641 Nicholas Papers (Camden) 4 Being constrayned to take upp all my intelligence concerning Parliament affaires upon trust..from others. c 1645 Howell Lett. (1650) I. 67 Ey-witnesses of those things which other receive but in trust. Ibid. II. The Vote I ij b, Scribling Pamphletors..thrust Lame things upon the world, t'ane up in trust. 1662 Stillingfl. Orig. Sacræ i. iv. §5 The story was taken upon trust by Herodotus, Pliny, and many others. 1797 Godwin Enquirer i. vi. 36 Active spirits..take..little upon trust. 1824 Examiner 353/1 That numerous body who take things on trust. 1869 J. Martineau Ess. II. 98 Take what is set before him on trust. |
c. transf. with possessive: That in which one's confidence is put; an object of trust.
| 1526 Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 8 b, Let hym be all your trust. 1560 Bible (Genev.) Ps. xl. 4 Blessed is the man, that maketh the Lord his trust. 1866 Bryant Death Abraham Lincoln i, The sword of power, a nation's trust. |
2. Confident expectation of something; hope.
| [c 1200: see trist n.1] c 1400 Destr. Troy 8689 Þai had no hope of þere heale..all hor trust þan was tynt. 1523 Ld. Berners Froiss. I. xviii. 22 They were all the weeke, without heryng of any worde of the scottis, vpon trust they shulde repasse agayn..the same way. a 1548 Hall Chron., Hen. IV 28 This prince was sent thither, in trust of sauegard, in hope of refuge, and in request of aide and comfort against his euill willers. 1667 Milton P.L. ii. 46 His trust was with th' Eternal to be deem'd Equal in strength. 1864 J. Martineau Ess., Addr., etc. (1891) IV. 563 The trusts of eighteen centuries and the sighs and hopes of more. |
3. Confidence in the ability and intention of a buyer to pay at a future time for goods supplied without present payment:
= credit n. 9 a. Chiefly in phrases
on trust,
upon trust,
† of trust.
| 1573 Tusser Husb. (1878) 134 At first hand he buieth that paieth all doune..At third hand he buieth that buieth of trust. 1649 Bp. Hall Cases Consc. (1650) 26 Those who are able to pay downe ready money..know to expect a better pennyworth, then those that runne upon trust. 1681 in New Mills Cloth Manuf. (S.H.S.) Introd. 85 Cloath will be..delivered out to the merchants and after 12 moneths trust they will be paying [etc.]. 1758 Johnson Idler No. 26 ¶8 My master lived on trust at an ale-house. 1829 Cobbett Adv. Yng. Man ii. 63 The man therefore who purchases on trust not only pays for the trust, but he also pays his due share of what the tradesman loses by trust. |
| fig. 1821 Byron Sardan. ii. i. 596, I am content To be beloved on trust for what I feel. 1865 Ruskin Sesame i. §1, I had even intended to ask your attention for a little while on trust..until [etc.]. |
4. The quality of being trustworthy; fidelity, reliability; loyalty, trustiness. Now
rare.
| 1470–85 Malory Arthur xxi. v. 850 Comfort thyself..and doo as wel as thou mayst, for in me is no truste for to truste in. c 1489 Caxton Sonnes of Aymon vii. 166 There ys noo truste in hym And therfore I wyll kepe me from hym. 1590 Marlowe Edw. II, iii. ii, Our friend Levune, faithful and full of trust. 1592 Shakes. Rom. & Jul. iii. ii. 85 There's no trust, no faith, no honestie in men. 1620 May Heir iii. (1622) D iv, Well I beleeue thee wench, and will reward Thy trust in this. 1695 Prior Ode Queen's Death iv, Fair Albion shall, with faithful Trust, Her holy Queen's sad Reliques guard. 1821 Byron Mar. Fal. ii. i, You have done well.—I thank you for that trust. |
5. a. The condition of having confidence reposed in one, or of being entrusted
with something;
esp. in the phrases
in trust,
to one's trust,
under trust.
| a 1548 Hall Chron., Edw. V 11, I dare putte no persone earthely in truste with his kepyng, but my selfe onely. 1577 Hanmer Anc. Eccl. Hist., Socrates i. xxvi, He putteth the priest..in trust with his testament. 1609 Skene Reg. Maj. ii. 131 Murther..of our Soveraine Lords lieges, quhere the persone slaine is vnder the trust, credit, assurance, and power of the slayer, is treason and lese majestie. [Margin] Slauchter vnder trust. 1611 Bible 1 Thess. ii. 4 As we were allowed of God to bee put in trust with the Gospel. ― 1 Tim. vi. 20 O Timothie, keepe that which is committed to thy trust. 1675 tr. Camden's Hist. Eliz. ii. (1688) 174 Such Letters I should never have committed to Barker's Trust. 1817 W. Selwyn Law Nisi Prius (ed. 4) II. 821 A devisee or executor in trust, who has acted, may be examined as a witness in support of the will. 1818 Scott Br. Lamm. xvii, The celebrated case of Sir Coolie Condiddle of Condiddle, who was tried for theft under trust. |
b. The obligation or responsibility imposed on one in whom confidence is placed or authority is vested, or who has given an undertaking of fidelity.
| 1535 Coverdale Micah vii. 20 Thou shalt kepe thy trust with Iacob, and thy mercy for Abraham, like as thou hast sworne vnto oure fathers longe agoo. a 1548 Hall Chron., Rich. III 27 The man..beynge hindered and kepte vnder by sir Richarde Ratcliffe and sir Willyam Catesbye, which..kept him by secrete driftes out of al secrete trust. a 1661 Fuller Worthies (1840) I. 402 His youth spent in some military employments of good trust. 1770 Junius Lett. xxxvii. (1820) 182 Until parliament itself betrays its trust, by contributing to establish new principles of government. 1784 J. Brown Hist. Brit. Ch. (1820) II. vi. 289 Bringing them into places of power and trust. 1849 Macaulay Hist. Eng. vii. II. 236 Grave apprehensions that, if Roman Catholics were made capable of public trust, great evils would ensue. 1907 Verney Mem. I. 72 A breach of trust. |
c. The condition of that which is entrusted to some one. Only in phrase
in († on) trust.
| 1425 W. Paston in P. Lett. I. 20 The whiche procuracie and appelle I shal sende to yowr persone,..with moneye onward, on trust. 1596 Spenser F.Q. v. iv. 2 To knights of great emprise The charge of Justice given was in trust, That they might execute her iudgements wise. 1608 Shakes. Per. i. iii. 13 His sealed Commission, left in trust with mee. 1664 Butler Hud. ii. i. 507 To make over In trust your fortune to your Lover. 1827 Jarman J. J. Powell's Devises (ed. 3) II. 17 A gift to a college, in trust for another charitable object. 1858 O. W. Holmes Aut. Breakf.-t. ii. (1891) 49 Put not your trust in money, but put your money in trust. |
d. (with
pl.) A duty or office, also a thing or person, entrusted to one.
| 1643 Chas. I Treaty at Oxford Wks. 1662 II. 282 Those Trusts which the Law of the Land hath settled in the Crown alone. 1684 Scanderbeg Rediv. iii. 32 It was not fit two such great Trusts, as Marshal and General should both be managed by one Person. 1750 Johnson Rambler No. 71 ¶14 The few moments remaining are to be considered as the last trust of heaven. 1822–34 Good's Study Med. (ed. 4) II. 463 The digestive powers, or some of them, do not perform their trust as they should do. 1844 G. N. Briggs in Massachusetts Acts 363 Public offices are public trusts, created for the benefit of the whole people, and not for the benefit of those who may fill them. 1898 Sophia M. Palmer in Ld. Selborne Mem. I. p. v. (Notice) These Memorials are a Trust. |
e. on trust: (of a dog) obeying the command to trust (see
trust v. 1 b). Also
to play ‘Trust’.
| 1932 C. Morgan Fountain i. 4 In Lewis's compartment were two former sergeants of marine, Lapham and Shordey, upright in opposite corners like dogs on trust. 1939 C. Day Lewis Child of Misfortune 196 Eve was trying to teach her puppy to play ‘Trust’ with a piece of biscuit. 1970 [see paid ppl. a. 4 a]. |
6. Law. The confidence reposed in a person in whom the legal ownership of property is vested to hold or use for the benefit of another; hence, an estate committed to the charge of trustees; also
transf. a trustee; a body of persons appointed as trustees; in
quot. 1712, the position or relation of a trustee.
| 1442 Rolls of Parlt. V. 57/1 The seid Feffees haue no title ner interest therynne, but only upon trust, and to his use, to execute his will. 1455 Ibid. 295/1 Londes or Tenementes of which we were enfeoffed by them of trust, in which we had never title..but onely by the feoffement made by us in trust. 1544 tr. Littleton's Tenures (1574) 96 b, If a manne enfeoffe another in hys lande vppon truste. 1628 Coke On Litt. 272 b, An Vse is a Trust or Confidence reposed in some other. 1712 Steele Spect. No. 402 ¶3, I am in a Trust relating to this Lady's Fortune. 1797 A. M. Bennett Beggar Girl (1813) I. 96 Both Mr. Frazer and doctor Cameron were trusts to a will made a few years back. 1828 Hood Kilmansegg, Marriage, It tipp'd the post-boy and paid the trust. 1873 Iron 3 May 493/1 The trustees of the Submarine Cables Trust. |
7. Commerce.
a. See
quot.| 1882–93 Bithell Counting-ho. Dict. s.v., The ‘Trusts’ instituted in the City.., such as the ‘Foreign and Colonial Securities Trust’ [etc.]; in all these instances, a certain capital is subscribed..which is placed in the hands of trustees to be invested. |
b. A body of producers or traders in some class of business, organized to reduce or defeat competition, lessen expenses, and control production and distribution for their common advantage;
spec. such a combination of commercial or industrial companies, with a central governing body of trustees which holds a majority or the whole of the stock of each of the combining firms, thus having a controlling vote in the conduct and operation of each.
Cf. trust-certificate in 8 b.
| 1877 J. Wanamaker in J. H. Appel Business Biogr. John Wanamaker (1930) x. 137 Why should not individual ownership be permitted to grow peaceably and equally with industries that are bunched into trusts? 1887 Pall Mall G. 2 Nov. 6/1 A high customs tariff offers a special temptation to indulge in corners, pools, and trusts. Ibid. 16 Nov. 12/1 A distillers' ‘trust’ has been formed..in order to regulate the production and price of spirits, and another large section of the trade have combined to curtail the production. 1888 Bryce Amer. Commw. III. 415 Those anomalous giants called Trusts,—groups of individuals and corporations concerned in one branch of trade or manufacture, which are placed under the irresponsible management of a small knot of persons, who, through their command of all the main producing or distributing agencies, intend and expect to dominate the market. a 1890 in G. B. Shaw Fabian Ess. Socialism 94 A trust is defined..as a combination to destroy competition and to restrain trade. 1894 W. T Stead If Christ came to Chicago 191 The Gas Trust is as arbitrary as any Persian satrap in its dealings with the citizens. |
8. a. attrib. and
Comb., as
trust-betrayer,
trust-breaker;
trust-breaking,
trust-winning adjs.; also in sense 6,
trust-beneficiary,
trust-estate,
trust-fund,
trust-gift,
trust-money,
trust-right; in sense 7 b,
trust-maker,
trust-regulation,
trust-share;
trust-bolstering,
trust-controlled,
trust-ridden adjs.| 1675 Cotton Scoffer Scoft 28 And like a treacherous Trust-breaker, Lewdly embezzel'd your Exchequer. 1766 Blackstone Comm. II. xx. 337 They now consider a trust-estate..as equivalent to the legal ownership. 1776 Adam Smith W.N. ii. iii. (1869) I. 341 The..allotment..of this fund..is not always guarded by any..trust-right or deed of mortmain. 1780 J. Fife Let. 29 Feb. in A. & H. Tayler Lord Fife & his Factor (1925) v. 121 After his death, you know how I was involved in a trust-fund. 1802–12 Bentham Ration. Judic. Evid. (1827) II. 114 The hypocritical and trust-breaking humanity of judges. 1827 Jarman J. J. Powell's Devises (ed. 3) II. 99 He gave several pecuniary legacies out of his said trust monies and personal estate. 1855 Dickens Dorrit ii. x, Plunderers, forgers, and trust-betrayers of many sorts. 1862 Harper's Mag. Aug. 337/1 Mr. Pennington has a considerable practice as a lawyer and a handsome private estate. He has, as a consequence, many trust funds. 1872 Talmage Serm. 291 The heroes of this country are fast getting to be those who have most skill in swallowing ‘trust-funds’. 1880 Muirhead Gaius Digest 495 A request to heir, legatee, or even a trust-beneficiary, to give effect to the truster's wishes. Ibid. ii. §271 A legacy cannot be charged upon a legatee, but a trust-gift may. 1881 M. A. Lewis Two Pretty G. II. 201 All the more trust-winning, solid qualities. 1892 Daily News 21 Dec. 7/3 Trust shares received a smart shock. Banks are reported unwilling lenders on some trust securities. 1896 S. Plimsoll in Westm. Gaz. 3 June (1898) 7/1, I would rather than see our English shopkeepers and manufacturers dragged..to a similar position, see those trust-makers one and all hanging from lamp-posts. 1901 Sir C. Furness Ibid. 22 Feb. 6/2 An object-lesson..as to the trust-bolstering effect of the tariff. 1901 Spectator 20 July 77/2 The Trustmakers are seeking monopoly. 1902 Daily Chron. 26 Apr. 5/1 Weep as you think of these Trust-ridden isles! 1902 Westm. Gaz. 28 Aug. 1/3 The striking fact is that President Roosevelt should have thrown himself into the Anti-Trust or Trust-regulation movement. Ibid. 5 Nov. 5/1 The whole of the share capital will stand in the names of five voting trustees... These voting trustees will issue voting trust share certificates which will be negotiable and will entitle the holders of them to all dividends declared upon the shares, but all voting powers upon the shares are reserved to the voting trustees. 1908 Ibid. 5 Nov. 2/1 All ‘articles entering into competition with Trust-controlled products’. |
b. Special combs.:
trust-buster colloq. (
orig. U.S.), one who works for the dissolution of trusts (sense 7 b);
spec. a government official responsible for the enforcement of legislation against trusts; hence
trust-busting vbl. n. and ppl. a.;
trust-certificate (in full
trust-share certificate), a negotiable certificate issued by the controlling board of a trust (sense 7 b), which entitles the holder to all dividends declared upon the surrendered shares which it represents, but gives him no voting power;
trust company, a company formed (originally in
U.S.) for the purpose of exercising the functions of a trustee, with which other financial activities were later combined;
trust corporation Law, a corporation empowered to act as a trustee;
trust deed, a deed of conveyance by which a trust (sense 6) is created, and its conditions set out;
Trust House, a hotel owned by a company called Trust Houses, which was founded in 1903 to restore the traditional high standards of the best of the old coaching inns, and merged with Forte Holdings Ltd. in 1970 to form Trusthouse Forte;
trust-investment, the investment of trust-money; a security sanctioned by law as one in which trustees may invest trust-money;
† trust-man, a trustee;
trust-manager, under the Education Act of 1902, one of the four managers of a voluntary elementary school appointed by the trustees;
trust officer N. Amer., an officer of a trust company or similar institution who has direct responsibility for the institution's activities as a trustee;
† trust-road, a road administered by a turnpike trust;
trust-stock, a high-class stock in which trust-funds are or may legally be invested; trustee-stock;
Trust Territory, a territory administered by a nation acting on behalf of the United Nations Organization;
cf. trusteeship 2 b.
| 1903 Chicago Chron. 11 Apr. 2 Mr. Knox is surprising everybody by his zeal as a *trust-buster. 1949 Time 9 May 34/3 U.S. trustbusters were still locked in stalemate with the Zaibatsu. 1979 N.Y. Times Mag. 30 Sept. 60/2 ‘Fighting the oil and gas lobby’..was soon to become more fashionable among liberals than it had been since the turn of the century, when the muckrakers and the trust-busters were riding high. |
| 1911 Daily Colonist (Victoria, B.C.) 22 Apr. 13/5 Clark McClercher..has been appointed special assistant to the attorney-general with ‘*trust-busting’ duties. 1944 Chicago Daily News 8 May 10/1 So we have a faint revival of ‘trust busting’ to give color to the stuff. 1973 Business Week 13 Jan. 32/1 The Administrative Council for Economic Defense (ACED)..claims to be the only trustbusting agency in Latin America. |
| 1891 Cent. Dict. s.v. Trust, *Trust certificate. 1904 Q. Rev. Jan. 187 The original stock-holders received trust-certificates. |
| 1834 Congress Debates 14 Jan. 2392 In New York, a *trust company, incorporated only two or three years since, has now three or four millions in deposite. 1913 Times 9 Aug. 17/6 The movements in trust companies' stocks were in the upward direction. |
| 1925 Act 15 Geo. V c. 18 §30. 422 Where there is a sole personal representative, not being a *trust corporation, it shall be obligatory on him to appoint an additional trustee. Ibid. §117. 491 ‘Trust corporation’ means the Public Trustee or a corporation either appointed by the court..or entitled by rules made under..the Public Trustee Act, 1906, to act as custodian trustee. 1967 E. Rudinger Wills & Probate 12 The Public Trustee is a government department which can be appointed to be your executor, as can some trust corporations. |
| a 1754 P. Grant Decisions of Court of Session (1813) II. 490 The Lords nem. con. found action competent upon the *trust-deed. 1812 Dramatic Censor 1811 400 The creditors on the trust deed, consisting of authors, performers, trades-people, and others, had due to them 52,611 l. 1880 A. McKay Hist. Kilmarnock (ed. 4) 321 Then follows a digest of the trust-deed. |
| [1900 Earl Grey in Econ. Rev. (1901) XI. 101 Arrangements have already been made for the formation of a Public-house Trust Company (Limited) for the county of Northumberland.] 1902 Earl of Carlisle in Monthly Rev. Feb. 36 This decision..may affect the reformed *trust houses. 1915 Nineteenth Cent. Jan. 68 The whole atmosphere of these Trust Houses..is essentially different to that of the average Trade house. 1928 Evening News 18 Aug. 11/7 No attempt was made to define ‘disinterested management’, but one gathered..that it is supposed to be found in ‘trust houses’. 1942 E. Waugh Put out More Flags i. 22 Basil will be covered with medals while your silly old yeomanry are still messing in a Trust House. 1972 ‘M. Delving’ Shadow of Himself i. 17, I.. looked up hotels. There was a Trust House there, the White Swan. |
| 1897 Westm. Gaz. 7 Oct. 7/3 The stock is a *trust investment stock. |
| 1867 R. S. Hawker Footpr. in Far Cornw. (1903) 151 Twenty acres of woodland copse..were bought and conveyed by..Dame Thomasine Gull, to feoffees and *trust-men. |
| 1902 Westm. Gaz. 17 July 6/2 A board of management consisting of a number of *trust managers not exceeding four appointed as provided by this Act, and..two appointed [etc.]. |
| 1905 Kirkbride & Sterrett Mod. Trust Company iii. 41 The *trust officer must have full authority over his department. 1965 H. Hood in R. Weaver Canad. Short Stories (1968) 2nd Ser. 221 You're doing splendidly. You have all your friends in the office and inside of two years you'll be a trust officer. 1976 Globe & Mail (Toronto) 16 Feb. 15/6 One prominent trust officer calculated that the increase would cost his company an additional $84,000 a year. |
| 1821 Galt Ann. Parish x, The toll or *trust-road was set a-going. |
| 1858 Ld. St. Leonards Handy-Bk. Prop. Law xxi. 166 One trustee sold the *trust-stock and gave the money to his co-trustee..to invest. 1898 Daily News 28 May 10/1 A few trust stocks have improved. |
| 1945 U.N. Charter xii. §75, in Times 27 June 8/5 The United Nations shall establish under its authority an International Trusteeship System for the administration and supervision of..*Trust Territories. 1970 Internat. & Compar. Law Q. XIX. 218 New Guinea was a Mandated Territory... Its change of status in 1946 to become a Trust Territory [etc.]..have not affected section 16. |
c. Passing into
adj. Social Psychol. Applied to activities in which an individual is required to display trust or confidence,
esp. as
trust game. Also with reference to techniques aimed at measuring or achieving trust.
| 1967 J. B. Rotter in Jrnl. Personality XXXV. 653 (heading) Construction of the interpersonal trust scale. 1972 Psychol. Report XXX. 850 The authors recognize that it is inappropriate to call this particular activity a trust exercise. 1975 Psychol. Abstr. LIII. 1181/1 Behavior..was related to choice in the ‘competition’ game but not in the ‘trust’ game. 1978 Peace News 25 Aug. 10/2 As I see it, trust games (for example) don't produce trusting groups any more than brooms sweep floors. |
▪ II. † trust, a. Obs. Also 3–5
trost, 5
truste. See also
traist a.,
trest a.,
trist a.
1 [Early ME. trust (ū or ŭ), app.:—OE. *trust (ū or ŭ) (not recorded, evidently not WSax.), simple grade of which ON. traustr ‘strong, firm, secure, trusty’, is an ablaut grade (trust, treust, traust); thence ME. trust and trost; the rare trist was app. assimilated to trist v.] 1. Confident, safe, secure, sure.
| c 1200 [implied in trustly 1]. 12.. Ancr. R. 66 To sum gostliche monne þat ȝe beoð strusti uppen [MS. Titus, þat ȝe arn trust on]. a 1425 Cursor M. 2573 (Trin.) Be trust in þis þat I þe hiȝt. Ibid. 11161 Be truste & in no deewrynes. |
2. Faithful, trusty; reliable, sound.
| c 1440 Jacob's Well 212 Ȝif þou selle a crokyd hors for a clene, a ruynous hows for trust hows. |
| β c 1330 R. Brunne Chron. (1810) 60 His sonnes boþe tille him war trost als stele. ? 13.. Adultery 102 in Herrig Archiv LXXIX. 420 Sche was..bothe trost & trewe. 1389 in Eng. Gilds (1870) 46 An Aldirman..; and foure skeuaynes, trost men and trewe. c 1425 Cast. Persev. 477 in Macro Plays 91 If he wyl be trost & trye, he schal be kyng. |
▪ III. trust, v. (
trʌst)
Also 3–5
trusten, (5
trusty), 5–6
truste, 5–
trust; β. 4–5
troste(n, (4
trosti).
Pa. tense and
pple. trusted, (
† trust). See also
traist v.,
trest v.,
trist v.
[Early ME. ad. ON. treysta, assimilated in ME. to trust, trost, a. and n. Cf. Sw. tröst comfort, trösta to comfort, console, Norw. tro{obar}ste sig til to confide in; OS. trôstan, MLG. trôsten, Du. troosten, OHG. trôsten, Ger. trösten (with the sense to comfort (cf. L. fortis strong), cheer, encourage): see trust a.] 1. a. intr. To have faith or confidence; to place reliance; to confide. Const.
in,
to (
† of,
on,
upon).
| a 1225 Leg. Kath. 503 Þeo þ[e] ham makieð..& alle þ[e] on ham trusteð [v.r. trusten]. a 1240 Lofsong in Cott. Hom. 213 Þeo hwile ðet ich truste uppo mon þu..lettest me al iwurden wið þeo þet ich truste uppon. 1297 R. Glouc. (Rolls) 9606 So muche he truste on him, þat in is warde he let do Henri is eldoste sone. a 1425 Cursor M. 4962 (Trin.) In oþere helpe me truste I nouȝt. a 1500 Sir Beues (Pynson) 3270 Moche he trusted in Arundel. 1560 Abp. Parker Let. to Bp. Grindal 18 Nov., Trusting of your lordship's good diligence herein. 1638 Hamilton Papers (Camden) 9, I trust in God to keipe them a sunder. 1656 H. Phillips Purch. Patt. (1676) 3 Though the man..have the repute of an honest man, yet trust not too much upon that. 1706 E. Ward Wooden World Diss. (1708) 50 He trusts much more to the Sun, for his Guide, than to the Creator of it. 1791 C. Smith Celestina (ed. 2) III. 22 She trusted on the long tried, the long assured tenderness of her lover. 1860 Tyndall Glac. i. xvi. 112 Each had to trust to himself. |
| β c 1330 R. Brunne Chron. (1810) 45 Bliþely tille Inglond wild he com..If he myght on þam troste. c 1394 P. Pl. Crede 350 Þei ben certayne men & syker on to trosten. c 1440 Promp. Parv. 503/1 Troston, confido. |
b. Imperative: an instruction given to a dog, requiring it to wait for a reward,
usu. in a begging position with a titbit placed on its nose.
Cf. trust n. 5 e.
| 1854, etc. [see paid ppl. a. 4 a]. 1921 W. de la Mare Mem. Midget xlix. 331 Finger and thumb outstretched above the cringing little dog... ‘Trust, Plum, trust!’ 1930 M. Allingham Mystery Mile xiv. 132, I put a bit of sugar on his nose and said ‘Trust’. 1974 G. Butler Coffin for Canary ix. 104 David was throwing him biscuits as to an old dog and saying ‘trust’. |
2. a. trans. To have faith or confidence in; to rely or depend upon.
| c 1374 Chaucer Anel. & Arc. 91 She him trustith aboue eche creature. 1491 Act 7 Hen. VII, c. 22 Preamble, Ye may send John Aleyne of Pole whom ye trust and y also. 1560 J. Daus tr. Sleidane's Comm. 165 b, He woulde not retourne to his Prince, for that he trusted hym no more. 1572 Satir. Poems Reform. xxxiv. 24 For Lordis and Lairdes ar nather Just Nor ȝit the commounis to be trust. 1687 A. Lovell tr. Thevenot's Trav. i. 74 He desired the command of a Ship, but they would not trust him so much. 1756 C. Smart tr. Horace, Sat. ii. iv. (1826) II. 133 The mushrooms, that grow in meadows, are of the best kind: all others are dangerously trusted. 1827 Scott Highl. Widow iv, He has trusted me, and I will trust him. 1874 Ruskin Fors Clav. xxxvii. 17, I cannot trust other people, without perpetual looking after them. |
| β 1382 Wyclif Isa. xxxvi. 4 What is this trist, that thou trostest? c 1394 P. Pl. Crede 237 For sich a certeyn man syker wold y trosten. c 1400 Apol. Loll. 45 If þei lofid & trostid Him aboue þe wark of þer hondis. |
b. Imperative, used sarcastically or ironically to express one's assurance that a person will or will not do something.
colloq. (
Cf. catch v. 40.)
| 1834 L. Ritchie Wand. by Seine 67 If a woman is in danger from the rain, whose umbrella..is at her service? The Frenchman's? Trust him! 1902 R. Bagot Donna Diana vi, Trust a religious old maid for scenting out love! |
3. a. To have faith or confidence
that something desired is, or will be, the case; also
const. with
inf. or
for; to hope.
| 1482 Cely Papers (Camden) 124 Howr mother and whe ar in good heyll, thankyd be God, and so we truste that ȝe be. c 1500 New Not-br. Mayd xxxix, Trustying to shewe..That men have an yll use..women to blame. 1518 Hen. VIII in State Papers I. 1, I trust the Quene my Wyfe be with chylde. 1603 Shakes. Meas. for M. iii. i. 271, I trust it will grow to a most prosperous perfection. a 1648 Ld. Herbert Hen. VIII (1683) 466 We should not trust to obtain at their [Saints'] hands that which is to be had only of God. 1781 Burke Corr. (1844) II. 445, I trust that these things are wholly repugnant to my nature, and inconsistent with my principles. 1857 T. Moore Handbk. Brit. Ferns (ed. 3) Pref., The author..trusts for a continuance of similar communications. 1880 Swinburne Stud. Shaks. 307 He trusted to establish the secret history and import of each. |
| β 1389 in Eng. Gilds (1870) 53 Oure godes [we] han dispent..; no catelle kepende,—trostende, as children, withe ȝiftes to ben amendyd. 1451 J. Capgrave Life St. Gilbert 90 Trostand for þis obediens to receyue sumtyme þe mor mede. |
† b. with simple object: To hope for, look for.
Obs. rare—1.
| 1523 Ld. Berners Froiss. I. cxlvi. 174 We truste in hym somoche gentylnesse, that by the grace of god his purpose shall chaung. |
4. To give credence to, believe (a statement); to rely upon the veracity or evidence of (a person, etc.).
| ? a 1366 Chaucer Rom. Rose 649 So faire it was, that, trusteth wel, It semede a place espirituel. 1586 A. Day Eng. Secretary ii. (1625) 26 Trust me I am vnused to these deuices. 1632 Lithgow Trav. iii. 85 Trust me, I told.. at one time, and within my sight, some 67. Villages. 1697 Dryden Virg. Georg. iii. 601 'Twas thus with Fleeces milky white (if we May trust Report,) Pan God of Arcady Did bribe thee Cynthia. a 1806 Bp. Horsley Serm. (1816) III. xlii. 262 Every man implicitly trusts his bodily senses concerning external objects placed at a convenient distance. 1871 Freeman Norm. Conq. IV. xviii. 286 If the tale is to be trusted, the ford must be looked for in the hilly country. |
| β 1399 Langl. Rich. Redeles i. 102 Ffor trostiþ rith treuly..All þat þey moued..Was to be sure of hem-self. c 1440 Generydes 1624 Troste me wele it goo not as ye wene. |
5. To commit the safety of (something) with confidence
to a place, etc.,
to or
with a person; to entrust; to place or allow (a person or thing) to be
in a place or condition, or
to do some action, with expectation of safety, or without fear of the consequences.
| 1340 Ayenb. 241 Þanne þe angel zayde to lot..‘ne trost þe naȝt ine þe stede þet þou hest ylete’. c 1440 York Myst. xxxii. 322 As touchyng þis money..Tite truste it tille oure tresorie. 1596 Shakes. Merch. V. i. i. 42 My ventures are not in one bottome trusted. 1617 Moryson Itin. iii. 1 Neither would I aduise Angelica..to trust her self alone..to the protection of wandering Knights. 1667 Milton P.L. xii. 133 Not wandring poor, but trusting all his wealth With God. 1748 Anson's Voy. ii. xi. 254 The Spaniards never trust the silver without an armed force to protect it. 1781 Gibbon Decl. & F. xxii. (1869) I. 626 He trusted the event to valour and to fortune. 1819 Scott Ivanhoe xxv, The Jewish maiden will rather trust her soul with God, than her honour to the Templar! 1908 R. Bagot A. Cuthbert vi, Afraid to trust herself to a retort, [she] walked out of the room. |
6. To invest
with a charge; to confide or entrust something to the care or disposal of.
| 1548 Udall, etc. Erasm. Par. Matt. xxiv. 96 The mayster hauynge a tryall of his trustines, wyll be bolde to truste hym with greater thynges. 1598 Shakes. Merry W. ii. ii. 316, I will rather trust a Fleming with my butter,..then my wife with her selfe. 1651 Hobbes Leviath. ii. xix. 98 To keep those that had trusted him with the Government [etc.]. 1718 Free-thinker No. 16 ¶4 They should never trust him with a Lighted Candle again. 1789 J. Moore Zeluco (1797) II. lxviii. 189 She was still afraid to trust her voice with words. 1828 Scott F.M. Perth vii, Let us meet at the East Port;..if it is your pleasure..to trust us with the matter. 1884 Church Bacon ix. 223 English seemed to him too homely to express the hopes of the world, too unstable to be trusted with them. |
7. a. To give (a person) credit
for goods supplied;
† to supply
with goods on credit (
obs.); also,
† to supply (goods) to a person on credit (
obs.): see
credit n. 9 a.
| 1530 Palsgr. 763/2, I truste a dettoure..No man wyll trust me, except I have redye money. 1541 Act 33 Hen. VIII, c. 15 Straungers..vsed to credite and truste the pore inhabitauntes..which..had not redy money to pay in hand. 1648 Cromwell Lett. 25 Nov., Without money the stubborn townspeople will not trust them for the worth of a penny. 1678 in Fountainhall Decis. (1759) I. 7 The prices of such..goods as were trusted by him. a 1687 Petty Pol. Arith. (1690) 113 Any Tradesman of good Reputation worth 500l. will be trusted with above 1000l. worth of Commodities. 1775 Pennsylvania Even. Post 13 July 301/2 All persons are forbid to trust my Wife Sarah, as I will pay no debts of her contracting after this date. |
b. absol. or intr.| 1718 Free-thinker No. 152 ¶5 My Dealing being in the Retail Way, I trusted little. 1818 Scott Br. Lamm. xii, The brewster's wife—she had trusted long, and the bill was aye scored up. |
† 8. trans. To place (a person) in trust
with property; to make a trustee of.
Obs. rare—1.
| 1670 Act 22 Chas. II, c. 12 §2 All such persons that are or shall be enfeoffed or trusted with any such Lands shall lett them to farme [etc.]. |
Hence
ˈtrusted ppl. a.; whence
ˈtrustedly adv. (
rare).
| 1450 W. Lomner in Four C. Eng. Lett. (1880) 3 The queche spynner he sente with certyn letters to certyn of his trustid men. 1784 Cowper Task iii. 650 Ere he gives The beds the trusted treasure of their seeds. 1816 Southey Lay Laureate lxxviii, Shall she not then diffuse the word of Heaven Through all the regions of her trusted reign? 1856 Ruskin Mod. Paint. IV. v. xi. §9 The gateless path turns trustedly aside. 1875 Jowett Plato (ed. 2) I. 467 Within the circle of his own most trusted friends. |
▪ IV. trust obs. f. trussed,
pa. tense and
pple. of
truss v.