/truyd"nt/ , n.
1. a three-pronged instrument or weapon.
2. Rom. Hist. a three-pronged spear used by a retiarius in gladiatorial combats.
3. Class. Myth. the three-pronged spear forming a characteristic attribute of the sea god Poseidon, or Neptune.
4. a fish spear having three prongs.
5. ( cap. ) Mil. a 34-ft (10-m) submarine-launched U.S. ballistic missile with eight to ten warheads and a range of 6500 mi. (10,459 km).
adj.
6. Also, tridental /truy den"tl/ . having three prongs or tines.
[ 1580-90; trident- (s. of tridens ) having three teeth. See TRI-, DENT 2 ]