Etymograph

English

trochee

Trochee comes from French trochée, from Ancient Greek τρέχω ‘run’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *drem-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*drem-1‘to run’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰregʰ-1‘to run, drag’reconstructed
  3. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEτρέχω2trékhō‘run’
  4. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEτροχαῖος2trokhaîos
  5. Frenchc. 1600–presenttrochée2by way of Latin trochaeus
  6. Englishearliest quotation 2016trochee2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek τρέχω
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English trochee
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2016, Ian McEwan, Nutshell: “‘He made us read James Fenton on the genius…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*drem-Wiktionary, Ancient Greek τρέχω‘to run’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰregʰ-Wiktionary, Ancient Greek τρέχω‘to run, drag’reconstructed
  3. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEτρέχωWiktionary, English trocheetrékhō‘run’
  4. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEτροχαῖοςWiktionary, English trocheetrokhaîos
  5. Frenchc. 1600–presenttrochéeWiktionary, English trocheeby way of Latin trochaeus
  6. Englishearliest quotation 2016trocheeWiktionary, English trochee. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2016, Ian McEwan, Nutshell: “‘He made us read James Fenton on the genius…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *drem- ‘to run’

syndrome, dormant, dormitory, dormer, dromedary, 24 more

through Proto-Indo-European *dʰregʰ- ‘to run, drag’

draw, train, draft, attractive, drag, portrait, attraction, retreat, extraction, distraction, tract, draught, entreat, 52 more

Today it means

noun A metrical foot in verse consisting of a stressed or heavy syllable followed by an unstressed or light syllable.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “trochee”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Ancient Greek τρέχω. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *drem- / trochee

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