trochaic

[ troh-key-ik ]

/ troʊˈkeɪ ɪk /

Prosody

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adjective

pertaining to the trochee.

consisting of or employing a trochee or trochees.

noun

a trochee.

Usually trochaics. a verse or poem written in trochees.

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Origin of trochaic

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

OTHER WORDS FROM trochaic

tro·cha·i·cal·ly, adverbun·tro·cha·ic, adjective

Words nearby trochaic

trobar clus, Trobriand Islander, Trobriand Islands, trocar, troch., trochaic, trochal, trochanter, troche, trochee, trochelminth

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use trochaic in a sentence

In the same way, one decides that “The Song of Hiawatha” is written in trochaic tetrameter.
English: Composition and Literature|W. F. (William Franklin) Webster
In this stanza the prevailing foot is iambic, but the first foot is trochaic.
English: Composition and Literature|W. F. (William Franklin) Webster
This may occur when the accent is on the first syllable of a foot; that is, when the foot is trochaic or dactylic.
English: Composition and Literature|W. F. (William Franklin) Webster
In both, the trochaic foot and the very short line indicate abrupt outpouring of feeling.
Browning and the Dramatic Monologue|S. S. Curry

They are all in rhyming Latin, and chiefly, though with exceptions, in the loose trochaic metre called Leonine.
View of the State of Europe during the Middle Ages, Vol. 3 (of 3)|Henry Hallam

British Dictionary definitions for trochaic

trochaic

/ (trəʊˈkeɪɪk) prosody /

adjective

of, relating to, or consisting of trochees

noun

another word for trochee

a verse composed of trochees

Derived forms of trochaic

trochaically, adverb

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012