When I was 20 years old, I was living in Greece for the summer with my aunt and cousin. My mom and stepdad visited Greece, and we spent some time together in Ithaca. We were out one day, in search of a natural pool or waterfall that we were told was lovely. While walking, we found ourselves at a crossroads, and standing there was a little Grecian lady wrapped in lots of layers, looking like she was about 300 years old.
As I approached the wizened woman, I felt like we were about to find out who the Fates were and what the river Styx was all about. But, in my very broken Greek, I managed to get directions. I thanked her and the three of us continued in silence. We looked at each other like we had just communicated with someone from another era.
Why am I telling you this? Today’s topic is about crossroads. In particular, it is about the word trivia. The word trivia is from Latin (not Greek), and it means (from the Online Etymology Dictionary):
"trifling facts, bits of information of little consequence”
Trivia is Latin, plural of trivium "place where three roads meet;" in transferred use, "an open place, a public place." The adjectival form of this, trivialis, meant "public," hence "common, commonplace."
One of my favorite people, Adam Aleksic, made a video about this on Facebook, and provided other words with via (road) in them. Here are my notes from the video:
| Word | Meaning | Meaning (as it relates to road) |
| impervious | impenetrable; not allowing entrance or passage | Road that can’t be passed through |
| devious | not straightforward; deceptive | Metaphorically out of the way, off the main road |
| deviate | stray from a standard principle or topic; depart from a standard course | Take a different path, turn off the road |
| deviant | straying from an accepted norm | Turn aside, go astray
[KC – Okay, I added this to the list. But it fits!] |
| previous | going before, in time order; prior | Before the road |
| obvious | easily discovered, seen, or understood | In the way, in the path, open, exposed |
| voyage | journey | Journey by land (or sea) |
| convoy | to accompany (v.)
an escort (n.) |
on the road with |
No matter what road you take, I hope there’s always a wise Greek woman (or a Roman one) to help you if you get lost!
Hecate, Greek goddess of the crossroads.
Kara Church | Technical Editor, Advisory | Knowledge Enablement
Pronouns: she/her | Call via Teams | jackhenry.com
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