God Shiva, holding a trishula, near Indira Gandhi International Airport, Delhi]], 18th century]] sculpture holding a trident]]A trident is a three-pronged staff or leg. The French word's origin is from Latin tridens or tridentis, from tri "three" and dentes "teeth." It was used by both spear-fishermen and military forces. As a hunting tool, it was used for its ability to skewer multiple fish at a time. As a weapon, it was prized for its long reach and ability to trap other long-weapons between prongs to disarm their wielder. Tridents were also famously used by the retiarii, Roman gladiators who used a net to wrap their adversary and a trident to kill him. In the southern USA, this type of spear, called a gig, is used for catching bullfrogs, flounder, and sometimes carp. This kind of fishing is referred to as gigging. Information on real forked s