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trochee

[troh-kee]
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noun Prosody.

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

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Poetic Foot vs. MeterPoetry has a lot of moving parts. If you’re reading this, chances are you’re starting to explore poetic analysis. Poetic foot and meter are a great place to start. Once you have these basics down, the rest becomes a lot easier. A poetic foot is a unit of stressed and unstressed syllables in a line of poetry. Poetic meter refers to the number of feet …
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Nearby words

  1. trochaic,
  2. trochal,
  3. trochanter,
  4. trochanterian,
  5. troche,
  6. trochelminth,
  7. trochilus,
  8. trochlea,
  9. trochlear,
  10. trochlear nerve

Origin of trochee

1580–90; < Latin trochaeus < Greek (poùs), trochaîos running (foot), equivalent to troch- (variant stem of tréchein to run) + -aios adj. suffix
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for trochee

British Dictionary definitions for trochee

trochee

noun

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

Word Origin for trochee

C16: via Latin from Greek trokhaios pous, literally: a running foot, from trekhein to run
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 trochee

trochee

n.

1580s, from French trochée, from Latin trochaeus "a trochee," from Greek trokhaios (pous), literally "a running, spinning (foot)," from trekhein "to run" (see truckle (n.)). As a metrical foot, a long followed by a short syllable, or an accented followed by an unaccented one.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper