trochee
[troh-kee]
- 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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Origin of trochee
1580–90; < Latin trochaeus < Greek (poùs), trochaîos running (foot), equivalent to troch- (variant stem of tréchein to run) + -aios adj. suffix
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Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for trochee
Historical Examples
He could make Greek iambics, and doubted whether the bishop knew the difference between an iambus and a trochee.
The Last Chronicle of BarsetAnthony Trollope
Antispast, an′ti-spast, n. in metre, a foot composed of an iambus and a trochee.
The Trochee, which has the first syllable accented, and the last unaccented: as, Ynke dodl.
The Comic English GrammarUnknown
The hexameter is a six-foot catalectic verse theoretically consisting of five successive dactyls and a trochee.
A History of English VersificationJakob Schipper
In the iambic and trochaic metres other feet are often substituted for the iambus and the trochee, but without change of rhythm.
A History of Roman LiteratureHarold North Fowler
trochee
- prosody a metrical foot of two syllables, the first long and the second short (– ◡)Compare iamb
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Word Origin
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
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Word Origin and History for 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.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper