troop
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /tɹuːp/
ipa: /tɹup/
rhymes: -uːp
homophone: troupe
Forms: form: troops
Etymology: Attested in English since 1545, from French troupe (back-formation of troupeau, diminutive of Medieval Latin troppus "flock") and Middle French trouppe (from Old French trope (“band, company, troop”)), both of Germanic origin from Frankish *þorp (“assembly, gathering”), from Proto-Germanic *þurpą (“village, land, estate”), from Proto-Indo-European *treb- (“dwelling, settlement”).
Doublet of troupe, and possibly also of thorp, dorp, and trip. Cognate with German Dorf (“village”).
Senses: examples: text: That which should accompany old age — / As honour, love, obedience, troops of friends — / I must not look to have.
ref: c. 1606 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Macbeth”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene iii]:
glosses: A collection of people; a number; a multitude (in general).
topics: government
military
politics
war
glosses: A small unit of cavalry or armour commanded by a captain, corresponding to a platoon or company of infantry.
glosses: A detachment of soldiers or police, especially horse artillery, armour, or state troopers.
examples: text: Ah, knovv you not the Citie fauours them, / And they haue troupes of Souldiers at their beck?
ref: c. 1591–1592 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Third Part of Henry the Sixt, […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene i], page 147, column 2:
text: Farewell the plumed troop, and the big wars.
ref: c. 1603–1604 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Othello, the Moore of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene iii]:
text: His troops moved to victory with the precision of machines.
ref: 1849–1861, Thomas Babington Macaulay, chapter I, in The History of England from the Accession of James the Second, volume (please specify |volume=I to V), London: Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, →OCLC:
glosses: A group of soldiers; military forces.
examples: text: One American M48 was slightly grazed and one American troop lightly wounded.
ref: 2018 August 8, Donald R. White, Death In a Lonely Place, Lulu.com, →ISBN, page 82:
text: Although the mission failed, at least 5 ISIL militants were killed, however 1 American troop was wounded. According to the reports, Jordan had a role in the operation and that one Jordanian soldier had been wounded as well.
ref: (Can we date this quote?), Victor Grant-Lawrence, Conspiracy Theories And Stuff, Lulu.com, →ISBN:
text: 2022, CNN, First Russian troop to speak out publicly against Putin’s war. Hear what he has to say (archived)
glosses: An individual soldier or member of a military force; a trooper.
examples: text: In order to form the new troop to a greater degree of perfection, the four principal actors were placed in the seminary of the cadets
ref: 1784, William Coxe, Travels into Poland, Russia, Sweden and Denmark:
glosses: A company of actors; a troupe.
examples: Lord Baden-Powell of Gilwell (1920), Aids To Scoutmastership, page 6: “It is the Patrol System that makes the Troop, and all Scouting for that matter, a real co-operative effort.”
qualifier: scouting
glosses: A chapter of a national girl or boy scouts organization, consisting of one or more patrols of 6 to 8 youngsters each.
glosses: A group of monkeys.
glosses: A group of meerkat families living together.
glosses: A particular roll of the drum; a quick march.
topics: biology
mycology
natural-sciences
glosses: A group of mushrooms that are close but not close enough to be called a cluster.
Derived terms: shock troop
troop carrier
trooper
troop horse
troopship
troop train