Trust’s etymology reveals a prudential, self-interested root rather than a moral one

Evidence

Moreover, although one should not conclude too much from etymology, note that a strictly moralized notion of trust runs up against an odd history. The Anglo-Saxon word “trust” is cognate with “tryst.” Tryst today has a somewhat salacious ring, as in an appointed meeting with a paramour. In Middle English, it merely meant, especially in hunting, holding one’s place in a team effort. I hold my place while you drive the game toward me, and I catch or kill it. In Middle English, I stand tryst. It is my trust to hold my place, so naturally you might come to say you trust me to do so. Note, of course, that it is likely then also to be in my interest to fulfill your trust by holding my place. Also note that you might similarly trust someone’s spouse to meet you for a tryst behind the barn. — Russell Hardin, Trust and Trustworthiness, 376

Categorization

• DEFINE: Recovers the original meaning of ‘trust’/‘tryst’ as holding one’s place in a team hunting effort — meaning the core concept was prudential cooperation, not moral obligation.
• CANDY: The salacious twist — trusting a spouse to meet you for a tryst behind the barn — is a funny elevator fact showing that ‘trust’ could mean trusting someone’s infidelity.
• XREF: The hunting-team etymology is a concrete micro-example of exactly the repeated-interaction, mutual-interest logic that Milgrom’s law-merchant work formalizes — trust as credible commitment in a joint endeavor.