I think the key is in an antiquated usage of the word "try".
Note this:\
try (tr)
v. tried (trd), try·ing, tries (trz)
v.tr.
1. To make an effort to do or accomplish (something); attempt: tried to ski.
2. To taste, sample, or otherwise test in order to determine strength, effect, worth, or desirability: Try this casserole. Try the door.
3. Law
a. To examine or hear (evidence or a case) by judicial process.
b. To put (an accused person) on trial.
4. To subject to great strain or hardship; tax: The last steep ascent tried my every muscle.
5. To melt (lard, for example) to separate out impurities; render.
6. To smooth, fit, or align accurately.
v.intr.
To make an effort; strive.
n. pl. tries (trz)
1. An attempt; an effort.
2. Sports In Rugby, an act of advancing the ball past the opponent's goal line and grounding it there for a score of three points.
Phrasal Verbs:
try on
1. To don (a garment) to test its fit.
2. To test or use experimentally.
try out
1. To undergo a competitive qualifying test, as for a job or athletic team.
2. To test or use experimentally.
It meant TO MELT at one time.
English quite often has many seemingly unrelated definitions for short words.
Sometimes one word is derived from Celtic, another from Saxon, another from Latin or Old French, and at some point in the past, they got the same pronunciation.
Context determines the meaning.
