trice TRYS, noun:
A very short time; an instant; a moment; — used chiefly in the phrase "in a trice."
There is no reason to doubt Alma here since so many other witnesses over the years tell similar tales . . . of the moody Mahler who would switch from eloquence to silence in a trice for no apparent reason.
— Jonathan Carr, Mahler: A Biography
Our super sleuth decided to take action and the mystery was solved in a trice.
— "Furthermore", The Guardian, October 30, 2001
Catastrophic fires could wipe out as much as 1 million sq km of rain forest in a trice.
— Sandy M. Fernandez, "Global Concern", Time, September 18, 2000
Trice is from Middle English (at a) trise, literally, "(at one) pull," from trisen, "to pull," from Middle Dutch trisen, "to hoist," from trise, "a windlass, a pulley."
