trochaic

[troh-key-ik]Prosody

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.

Origin of trochaic

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

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

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for trochaic

Historical Examples of trochaic

Shelley's To a Skylark is in trochaic metre of 3-stress and 6-stress lines.
The Principles of English Versification
Paull Franklin Baum
The last line, however, full of tenderness and sadness, is trochaic.
Browning and the Dramatic Monologue
S. S. Curry
Trochaic metre is often read, as if it were a kind of crude iambic.
Browning and the Dramatic Monologue
S. S. Curry
The Greek trochaic tetrameter, similarly, contains eight trochees, the English 'trochaic tetrameter' but four.
The Principles of English Versification
Paull Franklin Baum
It does not admit of frequent substitutions, for many substitutions destroy the trochaic effect.
The Principles of English Versification
Paull Franklin Baum

British Dictionary definitions for trochaic

trochaic

adjective

of, relating to, or consisting of trochees

noun

another word for trochee
a verse composed of trochees

Derived Formstrochaically, 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

Word Origin and History for trochaic

adj.

1580s, from French trochaïque (1540s) or directly from Latin trochaicus, from Greek trokhaikos, from trokhaios (see trochee).