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.

DEFINE: The etymology of 'trust'/'tryst' reveals its original cooperative, non-moralized sense of holding one's place in a team hunting effort.

Russell Hardin, Trust and Trustworthiness, loc. 376