Etymology
1. c.1300, "examine judiciously, sit in judgment of," from Anglo-Fr.
trier (c.1290), from O.Fr.
trier "to pick out, cull" (12c.), from Gallo-Romance
*triare, of unknown origin. The ground sense is "separate out (the good) by examination." Meaning "to test" is first recorded c.1362; that of "attempt to do" is from early 14c. Sense of "to subject to some strain" (of patience, endurance, etc.) is recorded from 1539.
Trying "distressing" is first attested 1718.
Try-out "trial of skill or ability" first recorded 1903. To
try (something) on for size in the fig. sense is recorded from 1956.
2. From Middle English trien (“to separate out, sift, choose, select, evaluate, try a legal case”), from Anglo-Norman trier, triher, triere (“to divide, separate, choose, select, prove, determine, try a case”), Old French trier (“to choose, pick out or separate from others, sift, cull”), of uncertain origin. Cognate with Occitan triar (“to choose, sort, scrutinise, peel”), Catalan triar (“to pick, choose, decide”). Suggested to be derived from Late Latin *trītāre (“to crush, grind, trample, wear out”), itself derived from Classical Latin trītus (“rubbed, worn down, pulverised”), the past participle of terō, terere (“to rub, wear down, trample”), though this derivation is incompatible with the Occitan form. Additionally, the shift in meaning from "rub, crush, trample" to "pick out, choose, cull" is difficult to explain. One suggestion is that the semantic shift might have originated from a Latin phrase *granum terere ("to tread the corn (in threshing)"; compare Latin trītūra (“rubbing, chafing, friction" also "threshing”)), which has a parallel in the modern French trier le grain (“to sort the grain”). Alternatively, perhaps derived from Vulgar Latin *trīāre, a metathetic alteration of *tīrāre (“to tear off, pull, draw”), whence also Old French tirer (“to draw, pull, pluck, tug, peck at, extract”), Occitan tirar (“to take, draw, retrieve, remove, extract”).
3. Replaced native Middle English cunnen (“to try”) (from Old English cunnian), Middle English fandien (“to try, prove”) (from Old English fandian), and Middle English costnien (“to try, tempt, test”) (from Old English costnian). See: Anglo-Norman '
trier', Old French '
trier', Occitan '
triar', Valencian '
triar', Old French '
tirer', Occitan '
tirar', Middle English '
cunnen', Old English '
cunnian', Old English '
fandian', Old English '
costnian'.
Verbs referencing "try"
Tok Pisin traim, Welsh
trio, French
trier, Belize Creole chrai, Lithuanian
tirti.