trochee Definition
a foot consisting of one long or stressed syllable followed by one short or unstressed syllable in poetic meter.
Using trochee: Examples
Take a moment to familiarize yourself with how "trochee" can be used in various situations through the following examples!
Example
The word 'poem' is a trochee.
Example
The first line of William Shakespeare's play 'Richard III' is written in trochaic tetrameter: 'Now is the win-ter of our dis-con-tent.'
Example
The nursery rhyme 'Jack and Jill' is written in trochaic meter.
trochee Synonyms and Antonyms
Synonyms for trochee
- trochaic foot
Phrases with trochee
a line of poetry consisting of four trochaic feet
Example
The first line of Edgar Allan Poe's poem 'The Raven' is written in trochaic tetrameter: 'On- ce up- on a mid- night drear- y, while I pon- dered, weak and wea- ry.'
Example
The poem 'Hiawatha' by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow is written in trochaic octameter.
Example
The nursery rhyme 'Jack and Jill' is written in trochaic dimeter: 'Jack and Jill went up the hill to fetch a pail of water.'
Origins of trochee
from Latin 'trochaeus', from Greek 'trokhaios', from 'trokhos' meaning 'a wheel'
Summary: trochee in Brief
A 'trochee' [ˈtrəʊkiː] is a poetic foot consisting of one stressed syllable followed by one unstressed syllable. It is commonly used in poetry and nursery rhymes, such as 'Jack and Jill went up the hill.' The term extends into phrases like 'trochaic tetrameter,' which refers to a line of poetry consisting of four trochaic feet.
