trochaic

[troh-key-ik]

adjective

1. pertaining to the trochee.

2. consisting of or employing a trochee or trochees.

noun

1. a trochee.

2. Usually trochaics. a verse or poem written in trochees.

trochaic

/ trəʊˈkeɪɪk /

adjective

1. of, relating to, or consisting of trochees

noun

1. another word for trochee

2. a verse composed of trochees

Other Word Forms

• trochaically adverb
• untrochaic adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of trochaic¹

1580–90; < Latin trochaicus < Greek trochaïkós, equivalent to trocha ( îos ) trochee + -ikos -ic

Example Sentences

Many other lines in this poem are also iambic or trochaic, yet the subject matter is troubled.

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It made “Saturday Night Live” and the David Letterman show; a literary scholar praised its “trochaic rhythm” in the National Review.

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But what endured in public memory far longer than the crime was the headline, with its verbless audacity, arresting parallel adjectives and forceful trochaic slams.

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The literary result, “Mud Soup” — a cautionary tale that still pulsates with trochaic abandon — is quoted here at some length in belated contrition:

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The regular trochaic tetrameter of these 14 lines gives the figure of Lizzie an emblematic solidity.

Read more on The Guardian