Etymology
1. c.1200, from O.N.
traust "help, confidence," from P.Gmc.
*traust- (cf. O.Fris.
trast, Du.
troost "comfort, consolation," O.H.G.
trost "trust, fidelity," Ger.
Trost "comfort, consolation," Goth.
trausti "agreement, alliance"). Related to O.E.
treowian "to believe, trust," and
treowe "faithful, trusty" (see true). Meaning "businesses organized to reduce competition" is recorded from 1877. The verb (c.1225) is from O.N.
treysta "to trust."
Trust-buster is recorded from 1903.
Trustee in the sense of "person who is responsible for the property of another" is attested from 1653.
Trustworthy is first attested 1808.
2. From Middle English trust, trost (“trust, protection”). Long considered a borrowing from Old Norse traust (“confidence, help, protection”), from Proto-Germanic *traustą, but the root vocalism is incompatible, so trust has come to be considered a reflex of an unattested Old English *trust, from a rare zero-grade Proto-Germanic variant of the same root also attested in Middle High German getrüste (“host”). Ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *deru- (“be firm, hard, solid”).
3. Cognates
4. Cognate with Saterland Frisian Traast (“comfort, solace”), West Frisian treast (“comfort, consolation, solace”), Dutch troost (“comfort, consolation”), German Trost (“comfort, consolation”), Low German Troost (“comfort, consolation”), Luxembourgish Trouscht (“consolation”), Danish trøst (“comfort, solace”), Icelandic traust (“faith, trust; confidence”), Norwegian Nynorsk trøst, trøyst (“consolation”), Swedish tröst (“comfort, consolation”), Gothic 𐍄𐍂𐌰𐌿𐍃𐍄𐌹 (trausti, “covenant, pact”). Doublet of tryst. More at true, tree.
Verbs referencing "trust"
French
truster.