Meaning
A fictional plant, able to move around and kill people with a poisonous stinger
Etymology
Origin: Latin
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *tréyes Proto-Indo-European *tri- Proto-Italic *tri- Latin tri- Proto-Indo-European *bʰeyd- Proto-Indo-European *-né- Proto-Indo-European *-ti Proto-Indo-European *bʰinédti Proto-Italic *findō Latin findō Proto-Indo-European *-ós Proto-Indo-European *-os Proto-Indo-European *-ós Proto-Indo-European *-ós Proto-Indo-European *-ós Proto-Indo-European *-ós Proto-Indo-European *-os Proto-Italic *-os Archaic Latin -os Latin -us Latin -fidus Latin trifidusbor. English trifid English triffid Coined by John Wyndham for his 1951 novel The Day of the Triffids, by alteration of the botanical term trifid (“having three lobes”).
NYT Puzzle Appearances
No published puzzle dates on file for this word yet. It is part of the official NYT Spelling Bee word list for 2019, 2020, 2024.