trefoil

[ tree-foil, tref-oil ]

noun

1. any of numerous plants belonging to the genus Trifolium, of the legume family, having usually digitate leaves of three leaflets and reddish, purple, yellow, or white flower heads, comprising the common clovers.
2. any of various similar plants.
3. Architecture. an ornament composed of three lobes, divided by cusps, radiating from a common center.
4. such an ornamental figure used by the Girl Scouts as its official emblem.

adjective

1. of, relating to, or shaped like a trefoil.

trefoil

/ ˈtrɛfɔɪl /

noun

1. any of numerous leguminous plants of the temperate genus Trifolium , having leaves divided into three leaflets and dense heads of small white, yellow, red, or purple flowers
2. any of various related plants having leaves divided into three leaflets, such as bird's-foot trefoil
3. a leaf having three leaflets
4. architect an ornament in the form of three arcs arranged in a circle

Derived Forms

• ˈtrefoiled, adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of trefoil¹

1350–1400; Middle English < Anglo-French trifoil < Latin trifolium triple leaf, the three-leaved plant, clover, equivalent to tri- tri- + folium leaf

Word History and Origins

Origin of trefoil¹

C14: from Anglo-French trifoil , from Latin trifolium three-leaved herb, from tri- + folium leaf

Example Sentences

This symmetry-matched strong field breaks the space and time symmetry within the material, and, more importantly, the resulting configuration depends on the orientation of the trefoil field with respect to the material.

From Science Daily

The experiment can be explained in three main steps: First, the synthesis of the trefoil field; then its characterization; and finally, the actual production of valley polarization.

From Science Daily

The researchers emphasize the incredibly high precision that the characterization process required, as the trefoil field is made of not just one, but two coherently combined optical fields.

From Science Daily

They superimposed these fields onto each other, so that the total polarization in time traced the desired trefoil shape.

From Science Daily

As Igor Tyulnev, first author of the article, explains, "our experiment consisted in creating an intense light pulse with a polarization that fitted this internal structure. The result was the so-called "trefoil field," whose symmetry matched the triangular sub-lattices that constitute hetero-atomic hexagonal materials."

From Science Daily