trivium

1. (education, historical) The lower division of the liberal arts in a medieval university; grammar, logic and rhetoric.historical

2. (zoology) The three anterior ambulacra of echinoderms, collectively.

3. (rare) Singular of trivia; anything of little importance.Examples: "[…] question of sympathy or antipathy sometimes evoked by a trivium; and in the category of trivia many learned and responsible individuals include Motion Pictures. Only they are not so trivial if we consider the power of feeling evoked by Motion Pictures, and the number of movie-goers."; "For the most part, Mrs. Fenner lays stress on the personalities and accomplishments of the executive secretaries, which is as it should be, since these gentlemen remained longer in the center of things than the presidents, who were elected for one year. The style is unpedantic and is flavored with references to colorful trivia, as for example, to the drunken janitor (p. 37) and to the romantic outcomes of NEA conventions (p. 28). Perhaps matrimony is not a trivium."; "Smith (Logan Pearpall^([sic])) Junior: First Trivium. I missed the train this morning, of all mornings. […] The usual prizes are offered for a “trivium” (not more than 150 words) in the manner of the late Logan Pearsall Smith, on Gallup Polls."form-ofraresingular