Entry · catalog no. 4397
trill
/ /trɪl/ /TRIL
adjective · Port Arthur–Houston, Texas · 1980s
✓ Verified
1.
True and real at once — genuine to a standard you can hear in how a person carries themselves.
“He kept it trill even after the deal money came in.”
Origin & Attribution
Port Arthur, Texas. Coined in the streets there in the mid-1980s — Bun B credits a local figure known as Sir Trill, who blended "true" and "real" — and pressed into the record by UGK, whose 1992 releases supplied the Oxford English Dictionary's first citation. A Gulf Coast word, not an internet one.
1985
Coined in Port Arthur, Texas — Bun B credits a local figure known as Sir Trill, blending true and real
1992
UGK releases supply the OED's first citation
2000s
General across Southern rap and beyond
Region of origin
West
Midwest
N.East
South
The South
Port Arthur–Houston, Texas · 1980s
Spoken by
Port Arthur and Houston; Gulf Coast rap and Texas speech generally
$TRILLThe Record · cultural traction
▲ Steady41 yrs
ahead of the mainstream
60/100
peak cultural energy
Introduced to English by the culture — logged here before the mainstream caught on.
Cultural usage — the recordMainstream search interest
First used
1985
in the culture
Recorded here
2026
point of first record
Cultural energy indexed from documented usage, search interest, and citation frequency. The recorded date is the archive’s permanent point of record.
Hear it spoken
By region — how it actually sounds
@nolakid
New Orleans, LA
@htxdri
Houston, TX
Contribute your pronunciation
Citations & Sources
■
Cocaine in the Back of the Ride, UGK (first OED citation) — song · 1992
submitted
■
+ Cite a sourceThe Southern Way, UGK — album · 1992
submitted
See also