trochaic

[ troh-key-ik ]

adjective

1. pertaining to the trochee.
2. consisting of or employing a trochee or trochees.

noun

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

trochaic

/ trəʊˈkeɪɪk /

adjective

1. of, relating to, or consisting of trochees

noun

1. another word for trochee
2. a verse composed of trochees

Derived Forms

• troˈchaically, adverb

Other Words From

• tro·chai·cal·ly adverb
• untro·chaic adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of trochaic¹

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

Look, we’re clearly not going to have real political leadership in this country until we all sit down and learn how poetry works, so open your copies of Sound and Sense to chapter twelve and let’s start a national conversation about trochaic octameter.

From Slate

Still, it’s hard not to feel at least a twinge of admiration when someone as prominent as Minhaj uses his platform to request that non-Desi audiences pronounce his trochaic name in a way that deviates from white English rhythms.

From Slate

It made “Saturday Night Live” and the David Letterman show; a literary scholar praised its “trochaic rhythm” in the National Review.

From Washington Post

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