Trini

English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈtrɪni/

Etymology 1

Clipping of Trinidadian.

Noun

Trini (plural Trinis)

1. (informal) A Trinidadian.

Usage notes

A colloquial term, used extensively in Trinidadian English in informal settings, particularly in settings regarding people of Trinidadian origin. The plural of Trini is Trinis, which can be used to refer to a group of Trinidadians (irrespective of gender). The term is also widely used by Trinidadians abroad in the United States, Jamaica, Guyana, Barbados and other Caribbean countries. The term is used on a less frequent basis by non-Trinidadians.

Proper noun

Trini

1. (informal) The island of Trinidad.
   • 1994 May 18, D.HERBERT, “Summer Jobs in T&T?”, in soc.culture.caribbean‎ (Usenet):

     Summer jobs in Trini are hard to find. A friend of mine from Case Western got an internship/summer job only through some real chain pulling. […] Sad but true, 90% of the people who graduate and get jobs in Trinidad know someone.

   • 1995 June 20, Joshua Saunders, “Re: Team one v Team two.”, in rec.sport.cricket‎ (Usenet):

     He won all 4 tosses. He batted twice, and bowled twice. He batted in the first test, after the sweeping ODI victory. He batted in the 4th test after the Trinidad demolition. He bowled in Trini (fair enough) and Antigua (defensive). He also bowled in Leeds. Is there a pattern there? I think so.

   • 1996 February 13, Tru trini, “Re: Are Trinis the friendliest in the West Indies”, in soc.culture.caribbean‎ (Usenet):

     I think that expatriates - no matter what island they're from, tend to be friendly toward (for want of a better word) foreigners. […] When I was in Trini I didn't exactly have a love for tourists, but I think I do more promotion now than the Tourist board.

2. (informal) The Trinidadian Creole language.
   • 2006, Jeffrey Lee, Butterfly Man, Rearsby: W F Howes Ltd, →ISBN, page 436:

     That night they forced down a meal of fat, juicy termites, raw and wriggling.
     ‘Well, said Leila ruefully, in broad Trini, ‘I guess what don’t kill does fatten.’

   • 2001, Sean Sheehan, Trinidad and Tobago (Cultures of the World), Tarrytown, NY: Marshall Cavendish Corporation, →ISBN, page 81:

     In official circles, standard English is the norm, and the more highly educated a person, the closer the dialect will be to standard English. But in casual conversation and in most informal situations, everybody, including the white elite, uses Trini, a form of English based a little on the many languages that have been fed into the culture.

   • 2015 June 21, Kevin Baldeosingh, “Comedy, seriously”, in Trinidad and Tobago Guardian‎:

     But, challenged to say where in Oliver's routine he insulted Trinidad, they either had no answer or pointed to him trying to use Trini slang when he said: " […] I'll just pause for a second to allow the people of Trinidad to laugh at the whitest person who ever lived attempting to speak Trini, and instead sounding real dotish, ent?"

Adjective

Trini (not comparable)

1. (informal) Trinidadian.
   • 2020, Paul Mendez, Rainbow Milk, Dialogue Books (2021), page 44:

     I win the first fight in a straight knockout, but the second one start and […] the Trini man lick me down.

References

Etymology 2

From a clipping of Katrina + -i (diminutive suffix).

Proper noun

Trini (plural Trinis)

1. A diminutive of the female given name Katrina.
   • 2004, Murray Gell-Mann, “My Father and Albert Einstein”, in John Brockman, editor, Curious Minds: How a Child becomes a Scientist, New York, NY: Pantheon Books, →ISBN, page 39:

     Thirty years later, at a garden party in Aspen, I met a wonderful lady named Trini Barnes—Katrina McCormick Barnes. When she was young, her parents died and left her a good deal of McCormick wealth, but she had roughly the same attitude toward it as I did!

Anagrams

• IRINT