Editing Trident (section)

==Etymology==
[[File:武備志 茅元儀 明朝六 48.jpg|thumb|Illustration of a trident user from the ''[[Wubei Zhi]]'', late 16th to early 17th century]]

The word "trident" comes from the [[Latin language|Latin]] word ''{{linktext|tridens}}'' or ''{{linktext|tridentis}}'': ''tri'' meaning "three" and ''dentes'' meaning "teeth", referring specifically to the three prongs, or "teeth", of the weapon.<ref>[https://www.etymonline.com/search?q=trident "Trident"] at the Online Etymology Dictionary. Accessed on 23 March 2024.</ref>

The [[Greek language|Greek]] equivalent is {{lang|grc|{{linktext|τρίαινα}}}} (''tríaina''), from [[Proto-Greek]] ''trianja'', meaning "threefold". The Greek term does not imply three of anything specific, and is vague about the shape, thus the assumption it was originally of "trident" form has been challenged.<ref name=walters/>

Latin ''{{linktext|fuscina}}'' also means "trident".<ref>{{citation|editor-last1=Lewis  |editor-first1=Charlton T. |editor-link1=Charlton T. Lewis |editor-last2=Short |editor-first2=Charles  |editor-link2=<!--Charles Short--> |title=fuscina |work=A Latin Dictionary |publisher=Clarendon Press |year=1879 |url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0059%3Aentry%3Dfuscina }}</ref>

The Sanskrit name for the trident, ''[[trishula]]'', is a compound of ''tri'' त्रि for "three" and ''śūla'' शूल for "thorn", calling the trident's three prongs "thorns" rather than "teeth" or dant in Sanskrit, making the word "Tridant" for trident.{{Citation needed|date=March 2021}}