trochee

[ troh-kee ]

noun

, Prosody.

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

trochee

/ ˈtrəʊkiː /

noun

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of trochee¹

1580–90; < Latin trochaeus < Greek ( poùs ), trochaîos running (foot), equivalent to troch- (variant stem of tréchein to run) + -aios adj. suffix

Word History and Origins

Origin of trochee¹

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

Example Sentences

A Trochee is a two-syllable foot accented on the first syllable.

From Project Gutenberg

Antispast, an′ti-spast, n. in metre, a foot composed of an iambus and a trochee.

From Project Gutenberg

It will be noted that the dactyl is very closely related in expression to the trochee, and the anapest to the iambic.

From Project Gutenberg

The trochee seems in general to indicate an outpouring of emotion or sudden burst of feeling too strong for control.

From Project Gutenberg

It would be impossible for him to talk in a steady, straight-forward iambic, or even in the hesitating, emotional trochee.

From Project Gutenberg