troop

English

Etymology

Attested in English since 1545, from French troupe (back-formation of troupeau, diminutive of Medieval Latin troppus "flock") and Middle French troupe (from Old French trope (“band, company, troop”)), both of Germanic origin from Frankish *þrop (throp, “assembly, gathering”), from Proto-Germanic *þurpan (“village, land, estate”), from Proto-Germanic *treb- (“dwelling”). Akin to Old English þorp, þrop (“village, farm, estate”) (Modern English thorp), Old Frisian þorp, Old Norse þorp.

Pronunciation

• IPA: /truːp/
• Rhymes: -uːp

Noun

troop (plural troops)

1. A collection of people; a company; a number; a multitude.
2. (military) A small unit of cavalry or armour commanded by a captain, corresponding to a platoon or company of infantry.
3. A detachment of soldiers or police, especially horse artillery, armour, or state troopers.
4. Soldiers, military forces (usually "troops").
5. (nonstandard) A company of stageplayers; a troupe.
6. A particular roll of the drum
7. a unit of girl or boy scouts
8. an orderly crowd
9. (mycology) Mushrooms that are in a close group but not close enough to be called a cluster.

Derived terms

• trooper
• troopship
• troop carrier

Translations

collection of people

Catalan: colla (ca) f., tropa (ca) f. Czech: skupina (cs) f.

Finnish: joukko (fi) Swahili: kikosi (sw)

a group of soldiers

Catalan: tropa (ca) f. Finnish: sotajoukko (fi) Portuguese: tropa (pt) f.

Serbo-Croatian: trupa (sh) Swahili: kikosi (sw)

Specifically, a small body of cavalry, light horse, or dragoons, consisting usually of about sixty men, commanded by a captain

Finnish: komppania (fi)

Swahili: kikosi (sw)

a company of horse artillery; a battery

Swahili: vikosi (sw)

A company of stageplayers; a troupe

Catalan: soldats (ca) m.

Swahili: kikosi (sw)

A particular roll of the drum

Swahili: vikosi (sw)

unit of girl or boy scouts

Czech: oddíl (cs) m. Finnish: lippukunta

Norwegian: tropp (no) m. and f. Swahili: kikosi (sw)

an orderly crowd

Swahili: kikosi (sw), kikosi (sw)

Verb

troop (third-person singular simple present troops, present participle trooping, simple past and past participle trooped)

1. To move in numbers; to come or gather in crowds or troops.
2. To march on; to go forward in haste.
3. to move or march as if in a crowd; “The children trooped into the room”.

Derived terms

• troop the colour (British, military)

References

• “troop” in the Canadian Oxford Dictionary, Second Edition, Oxford University Press, 2004.
• “troop” in the Online Etymology Dictionary, Douglas Harper, 2001

See also

• Appendix:English collective nouns

Anagrams

• proto

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Dutch

Noun

troop f. (plural tropen, ^??? please provide the diminutive!)

1. (music, literature, linguistics) trope