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troper

troper

9.9
A medieval book with extra words or melodies for church chants
  • noun
  • /ˈtroʊpər/
  • Archaic
: tropario
  • Scholars examined the troper to understand the evolution of medieval church music.

Examples

  • The monastery preserved a rare troper dating back to the twelfth century.

  • A beautifully illuminated troper was displayed in the museum's medieval collection.

  • The ancient troper was filled with beautiful melodies.

  • Did the troper include any new chants?

  • The monastery preserved a rare troper dating back to the twelfth century.

  • A beautifully illuminated troper was displayed in the museum's medieval collection.

  • Scholars examined the troper to understand the evolution of medieval church music.

Surface Forms

troper singular
tropers plural

Morphology

troper = trope (opaque) = trope + er

Although 'trope' and '-er' are visible, the medieval book sense is a specialized historical term and not a predictable modern derivation.

Etymology

Troper comes from trope, which comes from the Greek tropos meaning 'turn' or 'way'. A troper was originally a book of extra musical lines or words added to church songs, so the name fits the book that holds these 'turns' in the music.