Forms: α. 3–6 truste, 3– trust; β. 4–7 trost, 5 troste. See also TRIST sb., TREST sb.1, TRIST sb.1 [Early ME. trost(e, truste, ad. ON. traust sb. neut.: see TRUST a.]
1. Confidence in or reliance on some quality or attribute of a person or thing, or the truth of a statement. Const. in († of, on, upon, to, unto).
a. 1225. Ancr. R., 274. Me haueð truste to Godes helpe þet euer is neih bute ȝif bileaue trukie.
a. 1340. Ureisun, in Cott. Hom., 187. As mi trust is þer to hit beo mi lechunge.
13[?]. Guy Warw. (A.), 7242. He a lappe rent out anon Of his brini, þat alle his trust was on.
1484. Caxton, Fatles of Auian, i. He is wel a fole that setteth his hope and truste in a woman.
1505. in Mem. Hen. VII. (Rolls), 275. Don Fernando of Aragon hathe no confidens nor trust unto the Kynge of Romaynes.
1605. Stow, Ann., 671. A staffe of reede, of the which there is no trust.
1611. Shaks., Wint. T., IV. iv. 607. Ha, ha, what a Foole Honestie is! and Trust (his sworne brother) a very simple Gentleman.
1729. Butler, Serm., Wks. 1874, II. 189. To see and know and feel that our trust was not vain.
1823. Scott, Quentin D., xiii. The honour and trust which were about to be reposed in him.
1860. Tyndall, Glac., I. xix. 134. We had … to get round overhanging ledges, where our main trust was in our feet.
β. 1382. Wyclif, Prov. iii. 5. Haue trost in the Lord, of al thin herte. Ibid., Isa. xxxi. 1. Hauende trost [1388 trist] vpon foure horsid carres.
c. 1440. Promp. Parv., 503/1. Troste, confidencia, fiducia.
1648. Hamilton Papers (Camden), 228. The trost reposid in me bi your Lordshipe.
b. Take on or upon trust († receive, take up in trust, take up upon trust), to accept or give credit to without investigation or evidence.
1641. Nicholas Papers (Camden), 4. Being constrayned to take upp all my intelligence concerning Parliament affaires upon trust … from others.
c. 1645. Howell, Lett. (1650), I. 67. Ey-witnesses of those things which other receive but in trust. Ibid., II. The Vote, I ij b. Scribling Pamphletors … thrust Lame things upon the world, t’ane up in trust.
1662. Stillingfl., Orig. Sacræ, I. iv. § 5. The story was taken upon trust by Herodotus, Pliny, and many others.
1797. Godwin, Enquirer, I. vi. 36. Active spirits … take … little upon trust.
1824. Examiner, 353/1. That numerous body who take things on trust.
1869. J. Martineau, Ess., II. 98. Take what is set before him on trust.
c. transf. with possessive: That in which one’s confidence is put; an object of trust.
1526. Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W., 1531), 8 b. Let hym be all your trust.
1560. Bible (Genev.), Ps. xl. 4. Blessed is the man, that maketh the Lord his trust.
1866. Bryant, Death Abraham Lincoln, i. The sword of power, a nation’s trust.
2. Confident expectation of something; hope.
[c. 1200: see TRIST sb.1]
c. 1400. Destr. Troy, 8689. Þai had no hope of þere heale … all hor trust þan was tynt.
1523. Ld. Berners, Froiss., I. xviii. 22. They were all the weeke, without heryng of any worde of the scottis, vpon trust they shulde repasse agayn … the same way.
a. 1548. Hall, Chron., Hen. IV., 28. This prince was sent thither, in trust of sauegard, in hope of refuge, and in request of aide and comfort against his euill willers.
1667. Milton, P. L., II. 46. His trust was with th’ Eternal to be deem’d Equal in strength.
1864. J. Martineau, Ess., Addr., etc. (1891), IV. 563. The trusts of eighteen centuries and the sighs and hopes of more.
3. Confidence in the ability and intention of a buyer to pay at a future time for goods supplied without present payment: = CREDIT sb. 9 a. Chiefly in phrases on, upon, † of trust.
1573. Tusser, Husb. (1878), 134. At first hand he buieth that paieth all doune … At third hand he buieth that buieth of trust.
1649. Bp. Hall, Cases Consc. (1650), 26. Those who are able to pay downe ready money … know to expect a better pennyworth, then those that runne upon trust.
1681. in New Mills Cloth Manuf. (S.H.S.), Introd. 85. Cloath will be … delivered out to the merchants and after 12 moneths trust they will be paying [etc.].
1758. Johnson, Idler, No. 26, ¶ 8. My master lived on trust at an ale-house.
1829. Cobbett, Adv. Yng. Man, ii. 63. The man therefore who purchases on trust not only pays for the trust, but he also pays his due share of what the tradesman loses by trust.
fig. 1821. Byron, Sardan., II. i. 596. I am content To be beloved on trust for what I feel.
1865. Ruskin, Sesame, i. § 1. I had even intended to ask your attention for a little while on trust … until [etc.].
4. The quality of being trustworthy; fidelity, reliability; loyalty, trustiness. Now rare.
1470–85. Malory, Arthur, XXI. v. 850. Comfort thyself … and doo as wel as thou mayst, for in me is no truste for to truste in.
c. 1489. Caxton, Sonnes of Aymon, vii. 166. There ys noo truste in hym And therfore I wyll kepe me from hym.
1590. Marlowe, Edw. II., III. ii. Our friend Levune, faithful and full of trust.
1592. Shaks., Rom. & Jul., III. ii. 85. There’s no trust, no faith, no honestie in men.
1620. May, Heir, III. (1622), D iv. Well I beleeue thee wench, and will reward Thy trust in this.
1695. Prior, Ode Queen’s Death, iv. Fair Albion shall, with faithful Trust, Her holy Queen’s sad Reliques guard.
1821. Byron, Mar. Fal., II. i. You have done well.—I thank you for that trust.
5. a. The condition of having confidence reposed in one, or of being entrusted with something; esp. in the phrases in trust, to one’s trust, under trust.
a. 1548. Hall, Chron., Edw. V., 11. I dare putte no persone earthely in truste with his kepyng, but my selfe onely.
1577. Hanmer, Anc. Eccl. Hist., Socrates, I. xxvi. He putteth the priest … in trust with his testament.
1609. Skene, Reg. Maj., II. 131. Murther … of our Soveraine Lords lieges, quhere the persone slaine is vnder the trust, credit, assurance, and power of the slayer, is treason and lese majestie. [Margin] Slauchter vnder trust.
1611. Bible, 1 Thess. ii. 4. As we were allowed of God to bee put in trust with the Gospel. Ibid., 1 Tim. vi. 20. O Timothie, keepe that which is committed to thy trust.
1675. trans. Camden’s Hist. Eliz., II. (1688), 174. Such Letters I should never have committed to Barker’s Trust.
1817. W. Selwyn, Law Nisi Prius (ed. 4), II. 821. A devisee or executor in trust, who has acted, may be examined as a witness in support of the will.
1818. Scott, Br. Lamm., xvii. The celebrated case of Sir Coolie Condiddle of Condiddle, who was tried for theft under trust.
b. The obligation or responsibility imposed on one in whom confidence is placed or authority is vested, or who has given an undertaking of fidelity.
1535. Coverdale, Micah vii. 20. Thou shalt kepe thy trust with Iacob, and thy mercy for Abraham, like as thou hast sworne vnto oure fathers longe agoo.
a. 1548. Hall, Chron., Rich. III., 27. The man … beynge hindered and kepte vnder by sir Richarde Ratcliffe and sir Willyam Catesbye, which … kept him by secrete driftes out of al secrete trust.
a. 1661. Fuller, Worthies (1840), I. 402. His youth spent in some military employments of good trust.
1770. Junius Lett., xxxvii. (1820), 182. Until parliament itself betrays its trust, by contributing to establish new principles of government.
1784. J. Brown, Hist. Brit. Ch. (1820), II. vi. 289. Bringing them into places of power and trust.
1849. Macaulay, Hist. Eng., vii. II. 236. Grave apprehensions that, if Roman Catholics were made capable of public trust, great evils would ensue.
1907. Verney Mem., I. 72. A breach of trust.
c. The condition of that which is entrusted to some one. Only in phrase in († on) trust.
1425. W. Paston, in P. Lett., I. 20. The whiche procuracie and appelle I shal sende to yowr persone,… with moneye onward, on trust.
1596. Spenser, F. Q., V. iv. 2. To knights of great emprise The charge of Justice given was in trust, That they might execute her iudgements wise.
1608. Shaks., Per., I. iii. 13. His sealed Commission, left in trust with mee.
1664. Butler, Hud., II. I. 507. To make over In trust your fortune to your Lover.
1827. Jarman, J. J. Powell’s Devises (ed. 3), II. 17. A gift to a college, in trust for another charitable object.
1858. O. W. Holmes, Aut. Breakf.-t., ii. (1891), 49. Put not your trust in money, but put your money in trust.
d. (with pl.) A duty or office, also a thing or person, entrusted to one.
1643. Chas. I., Treaty at Oxford, Wks. 1662, II. 282. Those Trusts which the Law of the Land hath settled in the Crown alone.
1684. Scanderbeg Rediv., iii. 32. It was not fit two such great Trusts, as Marshal and General should both be managed by one Person.
1750. Johnson, Rambler, No. 71, ¶ 14. The few moments remaining are to be considered as the last trust of heaven.
1822–34. Good’s Study Med. (ed. 4), II. 463. The digestive powers, or some of them, do not perform their trust as they should do.
1844. G. N. Briggs, in Massachusetts Acts, 363. Public offices are public trusts, created for the benefit of the whole people, and not for the benefit of those who may fill them.
1898. Sophia M. Palmer, in Ld. Selborne, Mem., I. p. v. (Notice) These Memorials are a Trust.
6. Law. The confidence reposed in a person in whom the legal ownership of property is vested to hold or use for the benefit of another; hence, an estate committed to the charge of trustees; also transf. a trustee; a body of persons appointed as trustees; in quot. 1712, the position or relation of a trustee.
1442. Rolls of Parlt., V. 57/1. The seid Feftees haue no title ner interest therynne, but only upon trust, and to his use, to execute his will. Ibid. (1455), 295/1. Londes or Tenementes of which we were enfeoffed by them of trust, in which we had never title … but onely by the feoffement made by us in trust.
1544. trans. Littleton’s Tenures (1574), 96 b. If a manne enfeoffe another in hys lande vppon truste.
1628. Coke, On Litt., 272 b. An Vse is a Trust or Confidence reposed in some other.
1712. Steele, Spect., No. 402, ¶ 3. I am in a Trust relating to this Lady’s Fortune.
1797. Mrs. A. M. Bennett, Beggar Girl (1813), II. 96. Both Mr. Frazer and doctor Cameron were trusts to a will made a few years back.
1828. Hood, Kilmansegg, Marriage. It tipp’d the post-boy and paid the trust.
1873. Iron, 3 May, 493/1. The trustees of the Submarine Cables Trust.
7. Commerce. a. See quot.
1882–93. Bithell, Counting-ho. Dict., s.v., The ‘Trusts’ instituted in the City…, such as the ‘Foreign and Colonial Securities Trust’ [etc.]; in all these instances, a certain capital is subscribed … which is placed in the hands of trustees to be invested.
b. A body of producers or traders in some class of business, organized to reduce or defeat competition, lessen expenses, and control production and distribution for their common advantage; spec. such a combination of commercial or industrial companies, with a central governing body of trustees which holds a majority or the whole of the stock of each of the combining firms, thus having a controlling vote in the conduct and operation of each. Cf. trust-certificate in 8 b.
1885. Macon Republican, 13 Dec., 2/2. Nearly all the heads of monopolies and trusts, such as Harney, the President of the Sugar trust, W. H. Scott head of the Coal trust, Gould, Barnum, Brice and numerous others, contributed immense sums to the campaign fund.
1887. Pall Mall G., 2 Nov., 6/1. A high customs tariff offers a special temptation to indulge in corners, pools, and trusts. Ibid., 16 Nov., 12/1. A distillers’ ‘trust’ has been formed … in order to regulate the production and price of spirits, and another large section of the trade have combined to curtail the production.
1888. Bryce, Amer. Commw., III. 415. Those anomalous giants called Trusts,—groups of individuals and corporations concerned in one branch of trade or manufacture, which are placed under the irresponsible management of a small knot of persons, who, through their command of all the main producing or distributing agencies, intend and expect to dominate the market.
1888. Standard-Union (Brooklyn), 5 May, 2/1. It costs nothing but the labor of gathering, and yet the public has to pay every summer just the price fixed by the Ice Trust every spring.
a. 1890. in G. B. Shaw, Fabian Ess. Socialism, 94. A trust is defined … as a combination to destroy competition and to restrain trade.
1894. W. T. Stead, If Christ came to Chicago, 191. The Gas Trust is as arbitrary as any Persian satrap in its dealings with the citizens.
Mod. The Dictionary Trust homogenizes the English language.
8. attrib. and Comb., as trust-betrayer, -breaker, buster; trust-breaking, busting, -winning adjs.; also in sense 6, trust-beneficiary, -estate, -fund, -gift, -money, -right; in sense 7 b, trust-maker, -regulation, -share; trust-bolstering, -controlled, -ridden adjs.
1675. Cotton, Scoffer Scoft, 28. And like a treacherous Trust-breaker, Lewdly embezzel’d your Exchequer.
1766. Blackstone, Comm., II. xx. 337. They now consider a trust-estate … as equivalent to the legal ownership.
1776. Adam Smith, W. N., II. iii. (1869), I. 341. The … allotment of this fund … is not always guarded by any … trust-right or deed of mortmain.
1802–12. Bentham, Ration. Judic. Evid. (1827), II. 114. The hypocritical and trust-breaking humanity of judges.
1827. Jarman, J. J. Powell’s Devises (ed. 3), II. 99. He gave several pecuniary legacies out of his said trust monies and personal estate.
1855. Dickens, Dorrit, II. x. Plunderers, forgers, and trust-betrayers of many sorts.
1872. Talmage, Serm., 291. The heroes of this country are fast getting to be those who have most skill in swallowing ‘trust funds.’
1880. Muirhead, Gaius, Digest 495. A request to heir, legatee, or even a trust-beneficiary, to give effect to the truster’s wishes. Ibid., II. § 271. A legacy cannot be charged upon a legatee, but a trust-gift may.
1881. M. A. Lewis, Two Pretty G., II. 201. All the more trust-winning, solid qualities.
1882. Junction City (KS) Republican, 9 March, 2/6. The greatest trust buster of all among the fusion forces of the state is the well-known ‘rabble rouser,’ the Hon. David Overmyer, of Shawnee.
1892. Hutchinson (KS) Times, 10 Sept., 4/4. The Alliance members went out of the ‘trust busting’ business before they reached the house. Despite their ‘yelling promises’ not one of them even introduced an anti-trust bill.
1892. Daily News, 21 Dec., 7/3. Trust shares received a smart shock. Banks are reported unwilling lenders on some trust securities.
1896. S. Plimsoll, in Westm. Gaz., 3 June (1898), 7/1. I would rather than see our English shopkeepers and manufacturers dragged … to a similar position, see those trust-makers one and all hanging from lamp-posts.
1901. Sir C. Furness, Ibid., 22 Feb., 6/2. An object-lesson … as to the trust-bolstering effect of the tariff.
1901. Spectator, 20 July, 27/2. The Trustmakers are seeking monopoly.
1902. Daily Chron., 26 April, 5/1. Weep as you think of these Trust-ridden isles!
1902. Westm. Gaz., 28 Aug., 1/3. The striking fact is that President Roosevelt should have thrown himself into the Anti-Trust or Trust-regulation movement. Ibid., 5 Nov., 5/1. The whole of the share capital will stand in the names of five voting trustees…. These voting trustees will issue voting trust share certificates which will be negotiable and will entitle the holders of them to all dividends declared upon the shares, but all voting powers upon the shares are reserved to the voting trustees. Ibid. (1908), 5 Nov., 2/1. All ‘articles entering into competition with Trust-controlled products.’
b. Special combs.: trust-certificate (in full trust-share certificate), a negotiable certificate issued by the controlling board of a trust (sense 7 b), which entitles the holder to all dividends declared upon the surrendered shares which it represents, but gives him no voting power; trust company, a company formed (originally in U.S.) for the purpose of exercising the functions of a trustee, with which other financial activities were later combined; trust deed, a deed of conveyance by which a trust (sense 6) is created, and its conditions set out; trust investment, the investment of trust-money; a security sanctioned by law as one in which trustees may invest trust-money; † trust-man, a trustee; trust-manager, under the Education Act of 1902, one of the four managers of a voluntary elementary school appointed by the trustees; † trust-road, a road administered by a turnpike trust; trust-stock, a high-class stock in which trust-funds are or may legally be invested; trustee-stock.
1891. Cent. Dict., s.v. Trust, *Trust certificate.
1904. Q. Rev., Jan., 187. The original stock-holders received trust-certificates.
1834. Congress Debates, 14 Jan., 2392. In New York, a *trust company, incorporated only two or three years since, has now three or four millions in deposite.
1913. Times, 9 Aug., 17/6. The movements in trust companies’ stocks were in the upward direction.
1846. F. Hilliard, Amer. Law Real Prop. (ed. 2), I. vii. 124, note. This estate is chargeable, where a portion of it has been converted into other property, according to the provisions of the *trust deed. Ibid., II. lxxx. 266. In case of a trust deed, delivery to a third person will be valid till the trustee dissents.
1880. A. McKay, Hist. Kilmarnock (ed. 4), 321. Then follows a digest of the trust-deed.
1897. Westm. Gaz., 7 Oct., 7/3. The stock is a *trust investment stock.
1867. R. S. Hawker, Footpr. in Far Cornw. (1903), 151. Twenty acres of woodland copse in the neighbourhood were bought and conveyed by that kind and gracious lady, Dame Thomasine Gull, to feoffees and *trust-men for the perpetual use of the poor of the paroche.
1902. Westm. Gaz., 17 July, 6/2. A board of management consisting of a number of *trust managers not exceeding four appointed as provided by this Act, and … two appointed [etc.].
1821. Galt, Ann. Parish, x. The toll or *trust-road was set a-going.
1858. Ld. St. Leonards, Handy-Bk. Prop. Law, xxi. 166. One trustee sold the *trust-stock and gave the money to his co-trustee … to invest.
1898. Daily News, 28 May, 10/1. A few trust stocks have improved.
