trithing

English

Etymology

From Middle English trithing, tridinge, from Old English *þriðing, from Old Norse þriðjungr (“third part”).

Noun

trithing (plural trithings)

1. (historical) a riding (one of three ancient divisions of a county in England)
   • 1771, William, Sir Blackstone, “Of the Countries Subject to the Laws of England”, in Commentaries on the Laws of England‎^[1], volume 1, page 116:

     Where a county is divided into three of these intermediate jurisdictions, they are called trithings, which were antiently governed by a trithing-reeve. These trithings still subsist in the large county of York, where by an easy corruption they are denominated ridings; the north, the east, and the west-riding.

Derived terms

• riding (“administrative division”), trithing-mote, trithing-reeve

References

• “trithing”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.