[Skr. triçūla, f. tri- three + *çūla spit, spear-head.] A three-pointed figure or ornament, used as an emblem of the Hindu god Siva, and also as a Buddhist symbol.
1871. Alabaster, Wheel of Law, 249. On the great toe is the Trisul.
1876. J. Fergusson, Hist. Indian Arch., I. iv. 97. The trisul or trident emblem which crowns the gateways may … represent Buddha himself.
1905. Protestant Observer, Aug., 117/3. The trisul appears on a large medal of the Great Exhibition, 1851, with two fishes (Pisces) under Victoria and Albert.
