The Romans were well-known for their road building.
From their Latin phrase “noun trivium”, meaning a place where three roads meet, there derived a word for insignificant information.
At a three-road intersection, traffic would slow and congest, offering a great chance for light gossip and meaningless conversation.
So from tri, meaning “three,” and via, meaning “roadway,” the Romans gave us trivia, a word for useless information.
