trochaeus

Forms

trochaeus m (genitive trochaeī); second declension^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Ancient Greek τροχαῖος (trokhaîos, “running”),^[2][1] a metrical foot named for its quick movement.^[3] The Greek word belongs with τρέχω (trékhō, “to run”), which Köbler connects with Proto-Indo-European *dʰregʰ- (“to run”).^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Cicero (81–43 BC) uses it in the De oratore for the foot of a long and a short syllable.^[5][6][4]

Semantic evolution

Its usual sense was the trochee, a long syllable followed by a short one;^[2][5] but Cicero in the Orator and Quintilian also give the name to the tribrach, three short syllables.^[5][6] Georges notes that the trochee was earlier called choreus.^[7] The grammarians and metricians of the Empire use it constantly, and it lived on in medieval metrical treatises such as Aldhelm's.^[8] English took trochee from it, through French, in the 1580s.^[3]

Timeline

• 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it of the trochee and of the tribrach.^[5][4]
• c. 35–95/96 AD – Quintilian discusses both feet under this name.^[5][4]
• medieval – Aldhelm uses it in his treatise on metre.^[8]
• 1580s – English borrows it, through French, as trochee.^[3]

Meanings

Noun

1. (prosody) A trochee, a foot of a long syllable followed by a short one.^[2][5]
2. (prosody) A tribrach, a foot of three short syllables.^[2][5][6]

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
5. ^ a b c d e f g Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ a b c Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
7. ^ Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
8. ^ a b Latham, R. E., D. R. Howlett, R. K. Ashdowne, et al. (1975–2013), Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources, London: British Academy / Oxford University Press