trophy English · revision 7091

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1513|origins=grc τρόπαιον}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈtɹəʊfi/, /ˈtɹɒfi/ ''(UK)''; /ˈtɹoʊfi/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|frm|trophée]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024) from [[la|trophaeum|t=a sign of victory, monument]], earlier tropaeum,^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) from Greek [[m|grc|τρόπαιον|tr=trópaion|t=monument of an enemy's defeat]], the neuter of tropaios, of a rout, from [[m|grc|τροπή|tr=tropḗ|t=a turning; a rout]],^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)^(MWU 2024) from [[m|grc|τρέπω|tr=trépein|t=to turn]] (compare [[trope]], [[tropic]]).^(Cresswell 2021)^(NODE 1998)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A spoil or prize of war: 1513 in Barnhart and the OED, the 1510s in Etymonline.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) Etymonline has trophe, an overwhelming victory, in the early 15th century.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ In ancient Greece and Rome a trophy was a pile of the weapons of a defeated army set up on the battlefield as a memorial, dedicated to a god (1550 in the OED).^(Cresswell 2021)^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) Any token or evidence of victory or skill is from the 1560s,^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) and a carved representation of a classical trophy from the 1630s.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) A cup or other prize for winning a contest is a later sense (MWU 1816).^(MWU 2024)^(AHD) The ''trophy wife'', an attractive younger wife regarded as a status symbol, was a trending phrase from 1988–89.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * early 15th century – trophe, a victory.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1513 – a spoil of war.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1550 – a classical battle monument.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1569 – any token of victory.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1816 – a prize (MWU).^(MWU 2024)

+ * 1988 – trophy wife.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A cup or other decorative object awarded as a [[prize]] for a victory or success.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Something kept as a memento of success, as the head of an animal killed in hunting.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(history)'' A monument of captured arms set up on a battlefield in ancient Greece or Rome.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Acquired or displayed as a status symbol: ''a trophy wife''.^(SOED 2002)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[trophyless]]

+ * [[trophy wife]]

+ * [[trophy room]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[trope]]

+ * [[tropic]]

+ * [[tropism]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}