Tribble

//ˈtɹɪbl̩// name, noun

Definitions

Proper Noun
  1. 1
    A surname.

    "Career diplomat Conrad Tribble said on Twitter that multiculturalism “is one of our greatest strengths as a country, and I go to that well often as an American diplomat. It’s hard to overstate the global soft power impact of America’s cultural diversity.”"

Noun
  1. 1
    A horizontal frame with wires stretched across it for drying paper.
  2. 2
    A fictional alien creature in Star Trek, a fast-breeding, cooing ball of fur.

    "Scales have proliferated like tribbles in quadra-triticale: just intonations, equal temperaments, scales based on overtones, scales generated from a single interval or pair of intervals, scales without octaves, scales arising from arcane mathematical formulas, scales that reflect cosmological or religious structures, scales that "come from the heart.""

Etymology

Etymology 1

Unknown. The Century Dictionary suggests possibly a corruption of cribble (“sieve”).

Etymology 2

Probably invented for alliteration with trouble; the creatures first appeared in an episode called "The Trouble with Tribbles".

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