trope

¹

[ trohp ]

noun

1. Rhetoric.
   1. any literary or rhetorical device, as metaphor, metonymy, synecdoche, and irony, that consists in the use of words in other than their literal sense.
   2. an instance of this. Compare figure of speech.
2. a phrase, sentence, or verse formerly interpolated in a liturgical text to amplify or embellish.
3. 1. a recurring theme or motif, as in literature or art: the heroic trope.

      the trope of motherhood;

      the heroic trope.

   2. a convention or device that establishes a predictable or stereotypical representation of a character, setting, or scenario in a creative work: The author relies on our knowledge of the Haunted House trope to set the scene.

      From her introduction in the movie, the character is nothing but a Damsel in Distress trope.

      The author relies on our knowledge of the Haunted House trope to set the scene.

4. (in the philosophy of Santayana) the principle of organization according to which matter moves to form an object during the various stages of its existence.

-trope

²

1. a combining form meaning “one turned toward” that specified by the initial element ( heliotrope ); also occurring in concrete nouns that correspond to abstract nouns ending in -tropy or -tropism:

   allotrope.

-trope

¹

combining form

1. indicating a turning towards, development in the direction of, or affinity to

   heliotrope

trope

²

/ trəʊp /

noun

1. rhetoric a word or expression used in a figurative sense
2. an interpolation of words or music into the plainsong settings of the Roman Catholic liturgy

Word History and Origins

Origin of trope¹

First recorded in 1525–35; from Latin tropus “figure in rhetoric, manner of singing” from Greek trópos “turn, manner, style, figure of speech,” akin to trépein “to turn, direct, show”

Origin of trope²

< Greek -tropos; trope, tropo-

Word History and Origins

Origin of trope¹

from Greek tropos a turn

Origin of trope²

C16: from Latin tropus figurative use of a word, from Greek tropos style, turn; related to trepein to turn

Example Sentences

The attackers in both the Pittsburgh and El Paso incidents were motivated in part by the “Great Replacement” theory, a white supremacist trope claiming that the ongoing “replacement” of the white, Christian population in the United States is the deliberate strategy of a nefarious cabal.

From Los Angeles Times

Here, he was playing on the antisemitic trope of Jews as shrewd, stingy businessmen.

From Slate

Mr Hinchcliffe also suggested Latinos "loved making babies", and made a comment about black people and watermelons - drawing on a racist trope.

From BBC

Blaming immigrants for national decline is a classic trope of fascist rhetoric; rounding our neighbors up by the millions for expulsion is a proposal with few historical precedents, and none of them are good.

From Slate

Former President Donald Trump called Vice President Kamala Harris “lazy” and questioned her intelligence at a campaign event in Miami on Tuesday, perpetuating a long-used racist trope against Black people.

From Salon

Related Words

• figure
• idea
• impression
• notion
• perception
• thought
• vision