triffid
/ˈtɹɪfɪd/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.45 in modern English
14
Scrabble Score
7
Letters
2
Syllables
5
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
Any of the sea anemones of the genus Aiptasia with poisonous tentacles, which are a pest in aquaria.
Colloquial
noun
Any large, fast-growing and hard-to-remove weed, such as the flowering shrub Chromolaena odorata.
Example Sentences
- "But this should not lead to complete avoidance, as if it is like some dire incursion of triffids or ents."
- "The plant is also very rare (related to triffids ... be wary) as it acts like a venus fly trap except it gives its catches to the fish, a truly symbiotic relationship"
- "I too suffer from the dreaded Triffids !!! If you want a safer method of removal : I use boiling hot water and the syringe method."
- "Ironically, these anemones are initially seen as a boon, the hobbyist having received "something for nothing" when the first few triffids appear in the nooks and crannies of the live rock."
- "Perhaps the BBC could get the Radio 2 King of the Tomatoes to come back and tell us what programmes to play to discourage rampant growth in minor forests of giant bindweed, monster nettles and apprentice triffids."
- "But some of them are multiplying fast, and those dismissed as trivial today, because they only infest a few road verges, may well turn into triffids tomorrow."
Etymology
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”).