![]() If so, it goes back to Latin tropus, from which our word trope "figure of speech" derives. ![]() It seems to have originated in an Old Provençal word trobar "to compose, invent", which could be stretched to "to find" (see Latin inventus above). (In the Middle Ages it belonged to the prince who owned the land.) Where the French word for "find" ( trouver today) comes from is a bit fuzzy. Word History: The phrase that Middle English borrowed from Old French was tresor trové "found treasure", the equivalent of Latin thesaurus inventus, a legal term speaking to the rights of ownership of money found buried in the earth. In Play: Because it is a reduction of treasure trove, this word has taken over the meaning of the phrase: "The children went to bed dreaming of a trove of gifts and toys under the tree on Christmas morning." Not only will they probably find it, but, hopefully, they will have the opportunity to share it with a trove of friends and relatives. For that reason, it has not had time to propagate and, hence, has only one related form, the plural, troves. This word is a shortening of that phrase that emerged only at the end of the 19th century. Notes: If you associate this Good Word with the phrase treasure trove, you are right on target. ![]() A collection of valuables found somewhere or simply a great find. ![]()
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