different between trivia vs factoid

English

Pronunciation

• (Canada, UK, US) IPA^(key): /?t??vi.?/

  Rhymes: -?vi?

Etymology 1

From Latin trivia, plural of trivium (“place where three roads meet”). The term came to be used for any public place, and then for anything commonplace. Furthermore, because the beginners' course at university was called trivium, the word came to be used only for anything basic, simple and "trivial" (quod vide).

Noun

trivia (countable and uncountable, plural trivia)

1. insignificant trifles of little importance, especially items of unimportant information

   These trivia take up too much of the day.

   This trivia takes up too much of the day.

2. A quiz game that involves obscure facts.

   I joined the trivia club this semester!

Usage notes

• Formerly, as word derived from a Latin plural, trivia required a plural verb, as in the first usage example above. Most modern authorities accept a singular verb, and this may be the preferred usage in the US. The game (2) is always regarded as a singular noun.

Derived terms

Related terms

Translations

Etymology 2

Noun

trivia

1. plural of trivium

Latin

Noun

trivia

1. nominative plural of trivium
2. accusative plural of trivium
3. vocative plural of trivium

Adjective

trivia

1. nominative feminine singular of trivius
2. nominative neuter plural of trivius
3. accusative neuter plural of trivius
4. vocative feminine singular of trivius
5. vocative neuter plural of trivius

Adjective

trivi?

1. ablative feminine singular of trivius

Spanish

Noun

trivia f (plural trivias)

1. trivia

English

Etymology

From fact +? -oid (“similar, but not the same”); coined by American writer Norman Mailer in 1973 in Marilyn: A Biography, defined as "facts which have no existence before appearing in a magazine or newspaper, creations which are not so much lies as a product to manipulate emotion in the Silent Majority".

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?fækt??d/

Noun

factoid (plural factoids)

1. An inaccurate statement or statistic believed to be true because of broad repetition, especially if cited in the media. [from 1973]

   Synonym: misconception

   Coordinate term: urban legend
2. (originally Canada, US) An interesting item of trivia; a minor fact.

   Synonym: factlet

   • 2013, Nancy Duarte, Resonate: Present Visual Stories that Transform Audiences, John Wiley & Sons (?ISBN)

     Don't parade in front of the audience spewing every factoid you know on your topic. Only share the right information for that exact moment with that specific audience.

Translations

Usage notes

The more recent and contradictory meaning “minor fact” is gradually supplanting the original sense.

Further reading

• “factoid”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–present.
• factoid on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

References