trochaic

American  

[troh-key-ik] / troʊˈkeɪ ɪk /

adjective

1. pertaining to the trochee.

2. consisting of or employing a trochee or trochees.

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noun

1. a trochee.

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

trochaic British  

/ trəʊˈkeɪɪk /

adjective

1. of, relating to, or consisting of trochees

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noun

1. another word for trochee

2. a verse composed of trochees

Other Word Forms

• trochaically adverb
• untrochaic adjective

Etymology

Origin of trochaic

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.

From New York Times • Mar. 24, 2022

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.

From New York Times • Jun. 9, 2015

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

From New York Times • Oct. 10, 2014

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

From The Guardian • Jun. 25, 2012

His lyric works fall into two main classes, those written in Italian metres and those in the traditional trochaic lines and strophic forms of the Spanish peninsula.

From Library of the World's Best Literature, Ancient and Modern, Vol. VIII by Various