a masculine name: dim. Tris; var. Tristam, Tristan
2. Medieval Legend
a knight sent to Ireland by King Mark of Cornwall to bring back the princess Isolde to be the king's bride: Isolde and Tristram fall in love and tragically die together; in some versions, Tristram marries another Isolde, a princess of Brittany
Word origin
OFr Tristran, Tristan, altered (infl. by L tristis, sad) < Celt Drystan < drest, tumult, din