trochaic
1
9.9
- adjective
- /troʊˈkeɪɪk/
- Literature
- Many popular children's poems are written in a trochaic rhythm, making them easy to remember.
- trochaic rhythm
Examples
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Children's earlier mastery of SW over WS words, at least perceptually and acoustically, has resulted in several hypotheses to account for this apparent "trochaic bias."
Academic text (2012) -
To be fair, many English-language nicknames are trochaic (Bobby, Susie, Johnny, Sally, and so on).
Academic text (2016) -
There were no group differences in the production of the kinematic correlates of stress in the trochaic context.
Academic text (2011) -
In fact, the trochaic rhythm was so robust that, in spite of the word-final lengthening effect, a trochaic rhythm was observed.
Academic text (2011) -
In English, all nonnative speakers produced the trochaic rhythm with longer duration and larger amplitude for the initial strong than the final weak syllables.
Academic text (2011) -
However, for the iambic targets, bilingual speakers continued to produce a trochaic rhythm, with temporal and spatial correlates of stress consistent with a trochaic rather than an iambic rhythm.
Academic text (2011) -
A trochaic meter has a strong syllable followed by a weak one, like in the word 'happy'.
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The song's lyrics followed a trochaic pattern, enhancing its musicality and flow.
Surface Forms
Morphology
Etymology
Trochaic comes from the Greek word trokhaios meaning 'running'. A helpful way to remember it is to think of a quick step or 'trot': trochaic lines start with a strong syllable followed by a weaker one, so the rhythm feels like a falling or running beat.