a metrical foot of two syllables, the first long and the second short (– ◡)
Compare iamb
Word origin
C16: via Latin from Greek trokhaios pous, literally: a running foot, from trekhein to run
trochee in American English
(ˈtroʊki)
noun
a metrical foot consisting, in Greek and Latin verse, of one long syllable followed by one short one, or, as in English verse, of one accented syllable followed by one unaccented one (Ex.: “Pétĕr, | Pétĕr, | púmpkĭn | éatĕr”)
Word origin
L trochaeus < Gr trochaios, running < trechein, to run: see troche