Triter

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Marked by excessive use and a lack of originality, resulting in dullness or banality
2. characterized by commonplace ideas, expressions, or themes that fail to inspire
3. describing something that has become clichéd through frequent repetition

Etymology: "Triter" is simply the comparative of "trite," so it means more trite. The adjective "trite" comes from Latin "tritus," meaning "worn out," the past participle of "terere," "to wear away." An object rubbed smooth by handling loses its distinctiveness, and that physical sense of wear became a figure for ideas and expressions that have been used so often they no longer strike anyone. The surprising twist is that the Latin word has a second, separate source. The English adjective is also an unadapted borrowing of Latin "trite," which came from Ancient Greek "trítē," literally "third" and short for "trítē chordḗ," "third string" of a lyre. Two unrelated words, one meaning worn and one meaning third, ended up as the same English word, which is a happy accident of sound rather than a shared history.

Synonyms: more trite, more banal

Antonyms: fresher, newer, original