trial
adjEtymology From Middle English trial, triall, from Anglo-Norman trial, triel, from trier (“to pick out, cull”) + -al. More at English try.
1
Pertaining to a trial or test.
2
Attempted on a provisional or experimental basis.
trial
noun/ˈtɹaɪəl/ · [tɹaɪəl]
Etymology From Middle English trial, triall, from Anglo-Norman trial, triel, from trier (“to pick out, cull”) + -al. More at English try.
10 senses
- 1An occasion on which a person or thing is tested to find…
- 2The testing of a product or procedure.
- 3A research study to test the effectiveness and safety of…
- 4An event in which athletes’ or animals’ abilities are…
- 5A piece of ware used to test the heat of a kiln.
- 6An internal examination set by Eton College.
- 7An occasion on which armies or individuals meet in combat.
- 8A meeting or series of meetings in a court of law at…
- 9A difficult or annoying experience or person…
- 10The action of trying (to do) something, especially more…
1
An occasion on which a person or thing is tested to find out how well they perform or how suitable they are.
- all thy vexations / Were but my trials of thy love and thou / Hast strangely stood the test herec. 1611, William Shakespeare, The Tempest, Act IV, Scene 1:
- had my powers been less limited, I might have enforced obedience; but as it was, it was but a trial of strength between her and me, in which she generally came off victorious1847, Anne Brontë, chapter 3, in Agnes Grey, London: Thomas Cautley Newby, page 51:
1 more example
- Jama saw the sweaty, smelly work as a kind of test that, if passed, would entitle him to see his father, a trial of his worth as a son and as a man.2010, Nadifa Mohamed, Black Mamba Boy, Harper Collins, page 65:
2
The testing of a product or procedure.
- They will perform the trials for the new equipment next week.
3
Medicine, Sciences A research study to test the effectiveness and safety of a drug, medical procedure, etc.
- A randomized, controlled trial (RCT).
4
An event in which athletes’ or animals’ abilities are tested as they compete for a place on a team, or to move on to the next level of a championship, for example.
- soccer trials; sheepdog trials
5
Ceramics, Chemistry, Engineering, Natural sciences, Physical sciences A piece of ware used to test the heat of a kiln.
6
UK An internal examination set by Eton College.
7
Archaic An occasion on which armies or individuals meet in combat.
- In both your armies there is many a soul / Shall pay full dearly for this encounter, / If once they join in trial.c. 1597, William Shakespeare, Henry IV, Part 1, Act V, Scene 1:
8
Law A meeting or series of meetings in a court of law at which evidence is presented to a judge (and sometimes a jury) to allow them to decide on a legal matter (especially whether an accused person is guilty of a crime).
- If you are convicted at trial, you have the right to file an appeal.
- He was charged with war crimes and brought to trial before the International Tribunal.
4 more examples
- The journalists have been held in custody for three years without trial.
- as she hath / Been publicly accused, so shall she have / A just and open trialc. 1610–1611 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Winters Tale”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene iii]:
- She, after form of trial condemned to die on the scaffold, / Patiently met her doom at the foot of the statue of Justice.1847, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Evangeline, Boston: Ticknor, Part 3, p. 42:
- […] this case should never have come to trial.1960, Harper Lee, chapter 20, in To Kill a Mockingbird, Philadelphia: Lippincott, page 215:
9
A difficult or annoying experience or person; (especially religion) such an experience seen as a test of faith and piety.
- That boy was a trial to his parents.
- That they are Cowards, many have said, but few have found it so in the time of Trial.1678, John Bunyan, The Pilgrim’s Progress, London: Nath. Ponder, page 172:
4 more examples
- Poor Justine was very ill; but other trials were reserved for her.1818, Mary Shelley, chapter 5, in Frankenstein, volume 1, London: Lackington, Hughes, Harding, Mavor, & Jones, page 120:
- I’m afraid I’m going to be a dreadful trial to you. Maybe you’d better send me back to the asylum.1908, Lucy Maud Montgomery, chapter 12, in Anne of Green Gables, Toronto: Ryerson Press, page 108:
- […] I’m not used […] to waiting hungry on others while they eat. It is a sore trial for a hobbit, that.1955, J. R. R. Tolkien, chapter 4, in The Return of the King, New York: Ballantine Books, published 1973, page 98:
- You must be strong now, for your greatest trials are still ahead.2008, Tan Twan Eng, The Gift of Rain, New York: Weinstein Books, Book 2, Chapter 13, p. 365:
10
Archaic The action of trying (to do) something, especially more than once. (This sense is still current in the expression trial and error.)
- Finding my first Seed did not grow, which I easily imagin’d was by the Drought, I sought for a moister Piece of Ground to make another Trial in,1719, Daniel Defoe, Robinson Crusoe, London: W. Taylor, page 123:
- He summoned up all his strength for one last trial, and bent his faltering steps towards [the house].1839, Charles Dickens, chapter 28, in Oliver Twist, volume 2, London: Richard Bentley, page 144:
2 more examples
- After a dozen trials he succeeded in lighting the lantern,1913, Willa Cather, chapter 1, in O Pioneers!, Boston: Houghton Mifflin, page 18:
- Before the first living cell was created, there may have been many trials and failures.1950, Rachel Carson, chapter 1, in The Sea Around Us, New York: Oxford University Press, published 1961, page 7:
- Derived terms
36 terms
bench trial, civil trial, clinical trial, counter-trial, fair trial, field trial, free trial, jury trial, kilotrial, monkey trial, on trial, on trial for one's life, pre-trial, pseudotrial, reverse trial, sea trial, show trial, teletrial, time trial, trialability, trial balance, trial-balloon, trial by jury, trial by media, trial by ordeal, trial court, trial de novo, trial division, trialism, trial number, trial of scar, trial of void, trial pit, trial run, trialwise, under-trial