different between pert vs trifling

English

Etymology

Aphetic form of apert.

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /p?t/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /p??t/
• Rhymes: -??(?)t

Adjective

pert (comparative perter, superlative pertest)

1. (of a person) Attractive.
2. (of a part of the body) Well-formed, shapely. [from 14th c.]

3. Lively; alert and cheerful; bright. [from 16th c.]
   • 1594, William Shakespeare, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Act 1, Scene 1:

     "Go Philostrate, Stirre vp the Athenian youth to merriments, Awake the pert and nimble spirit of mirth"

   • 2001, Donald Spoto, Marilyn Monroe: The Biography, chapter 1, 11:

     He was instantly attracted to Gladys's pert, fey humor and her good nature.

4. (now rare, especially of children or social inferiors) Cheeky, impertinent. [from 15th c.]
   • 2009, Hilary Mantel, Wolf Hall, Fourth Estate 2010, p. 333:

     "You'll not be so pert when the Cornish seize you. They spit children like you and roast them on bonfires."

5. (obsolete) Open; evident; unhidden; apert. [14th-17th c.]

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Piers Plowman to this entry?)

6. (obsolete) Clever.

Synonyms

• See also Thesaurus:cheeky

Derived terms

• pertly
• pertness

Translations

Verb

pert (third-person singular simple present perts, present participle perting, simple past and past participle perted)

1. (intransitive, obsolete) To behave with pertness.

Noun

pert (plural perts)

1. (obsolete) An impudent person.

Anagrams

• 'terp, -pter, pret., terp

Hungarian

Etymology

per +? -t

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [?p?rt]
• Hyphenation: pert

Noun

pert

1. accusative singular of per

Ladin

Alternative forms

• part

Etymology

From Latin pars, partem.

Noun

pert f (plural pertes)

1. part

Related terms

• partir

Middle Dutch

Etymology

From Old Dutch *peret, from Late Latin paraver?dus.

Noun

pert n

1. horse

Inflection

This noun needs an inflection-table template.

Alternative forms

• p?ert
• p?ert

Descendants

• Dutch: paard, perd
  • Afrikaans: perd
    • ? Phuthi: ipere
    • ? Sotho: pere
  • ? English: prad
• Limburgish: paerd
• West Flemish: peird

Further reading

• “pert”, in Vroegmiddelnederlands Woordenboek, 2000
• Verwijs, E.; Verdam, J. (1885–1929) , “pert”, in Middelnederlandsch Woordenboek, The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff, ?ISBN

Welsh

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /p?rt/

Adjective

pert (feminine singular pert, plural perton, equative perted, comparative pertach, superlative pertaf)

1. pretty, attractive
2. quaint

Mutation

English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?t?a?fli?/

Adjective

trifling (comparative more trifling, superlative most trifling)

1. Trivial, or of little importance.
   • 2005, Plato, Sophist. Translation by Lesley Brown. 234a.

     […] it doesn't take him long to make any of them, and he sells them for some trifling sum of money.

2. Idle or frivolous.
3. (African-American Vernacular) Of suspicious character, typically secretive or deceitful; shady.
   • 2001, Glenda Howard, Cita's World

     My hand was aching to slap that silly heifer. I told her to take her trifling ass down to Burger King and get herself a job flipping burgers […]

Synonyms

• trivial
• inconsequential
• petty
• See also Thesaurus:insignificant

Related terms

• trifle

Translations

Noun

trifling (plural triflings)

1. The act of one who trifles; frivolous behaviour.
   • 1845, George Croly, Samuel Warren, Marston, or the Memoirs of a Statesman

     He writes on the principle, of course, that in one's dotage we are privileged to return to the triflings of our infancy, and that Downing Street cannot be better employed in these days than as a chapel of ease to Eton.

Translations

Verb

trifling

1. present participle of trifle

Anagrams

• filtring, flirting