trochee

American  

[troh-kee] / ˈtroʊ ki /

noun

Prosody.

1. a foot of two syllables, a long followed by a short in quantitative meter, or a stressed followed by an unstressed in accentual meter.

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trochee British  

/ ˈtrəʊkiː /

noun

1. prosody a metrical foot of two syllables, the first long and the second short ( ) Compare iamb

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Etymology

Origin of trochee

1580–90; < Latin trochaeus < Greek ( poùs ), trochaîos running (foot), equivalent to troch- (variant stem of tréchein to run) + -aios adj. suffix

Explanation

In poetry, a rhythmic unit of two syllables in which the first syllable is stressed is known as a trochee. The song "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" is composed of trochees. The word trochee goes back to the Greek phrase trokhaios pous, "a running foot," and this sense of motion and forward momentum translates to its literary meaning. A poem's meter — the number and type of metrical feet used in each line — determines its shape and rhythm. Since ancient times, writing that uses trochees has been thought of as more energetic and spirited than its opposite, iambic rhythm, although iambs are more common in English.

Example Sentences

A Trochee is a two-syllable foot accented on the first syllable.

From English: Composition and Literature by Webster, W. F. (William Franklin)

Trochee, a foot consisting of a stress and an unstress, _̷ ◡, 38, 51, 70, 82 ff.

From The Principles of English Versification by Baum, Paull Franklin

Those commonly accepted are: Iambus ⌣  —   Dactyl — ⌣⌣ Trochee — ⌣   Anapest ⌣ ⌣ — Spondee — —   Amphimacer — ⌣ — Amphibrach  ⌣ — ⌣ The dash stands for the accented syllable.

From Rhymes and Meters A Practical Manual for Versifiers by Winslow, Horatio

For the Word hostis, making a Trochee, has no Place in an Iambick Verse, and Hero being a Spondee won't stand in the second Place.

From Colloquies of Erasmus, Volume I. by Erasmus, Desiderius

If this is done there will be in common English verse only two possible feet—the so-called accentual Trochee and Dactyl, and correspondingly only two possible uniform rhythms, the so-called Trochaic and Dactylic.

From Poems of Gerard Manley Hopkins Now First Published by Bridges, Robert Seymour