Sort of. "Trivia" was apparently invented by an author named L. P. Smith in 1902 [1, 2], and has always meant "tiny fact" since its invention. Whereas "trivial"

Sort of. "Trivia" was apparently invented by an author named L. P. Smith in 1902 [1, 2], and has always meant "tiny fact" since its invention. Whereas "trivial" comes from both Trivium, as you say, there was already a Latin word trivialis, meaning "commonplace" or "ordinary" (it literally means "of the crossroads", ie. people and sights you encounter every day in a city) [3, 4]. I guess what happened here, etymologically, is essentially a merging of words that happen to fit: The Trivium, being the simplest course, was basic and everyday to the point of being "trivialis". [1] http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=trivia http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=trivia [2] http://www.grammarphobia.com/blog/2009/12/trivial-pursuit.html http://www.grammarphobia.com/blog/2009/12/trivial-pursuit.ht... [3] http://www.yourdictionary.com/trivial http://www.yourdictionary.com/trivial, see American Heritage Dictionary at the bottom of the page. [4] http://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-tri4.htm http://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-tri4.htm