trochee
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of trochee
1580–90; < Latin trochaeus < Greek ( poùs ), trochaîos running (foot), equivalent to troch- (variant stem of tréchein to run) + -aios adj. suffix
Explanation
In poetry, a rhythmic unit of two syllables in which the first syllable is stressed is known as a trochee. The song "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" is composed of trochees. The word trochee goes back to the Greek phrase trokhaios pous, "a running foot," and this sense of motion and forward momentum translates to its literary meaning. A poem's meter — the number and type of metrical feet used in each line — determines its shape and rhythm. Since ancient times, writing that uses trochees has been thought of as more energetic and spirited than its opposite, iambic rhythm, although iambs are more common in English.
Vocabulary lists containing trochee
Some Helpful Poetry Terms
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Poetry: Structure and Meter
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Reading: Literature - Poetry - High School
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Not that one needs to know an anapest from a trochee to enjoy the genre.
From Seattle Times • Apr. 6, 2023
Within its print-hung, paneled walls, smelling of old leather bindings and armchairs, the Grolier is a club of booklovers more interested in a richly tooled cover than in a succulent footnote or limpid trochee.
From Time Magazine Archive
A single stressed syllable, then a trochee, then a dactyl, for prosody nerds.
From "Words Like Loaded Pistols" by Sam Leith
The presence of a trochee is no blemish, but a relief: Vailing her high tops higher than her ribs.
From An Essay Toward a History of Shakespeare in Norway by Ruud, Martin Brown
This foot is called the trochee, and it will help you to remember it if you will think that the word tro´chee has two syllables and is accented on the first.
From Journeys Through Bookland, Vol. 7 by Sylvester, Charles Herbert
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
