Link Centre Dictionary

troll

UK/tɹɒl/ US/tɹəʊl/ fairly common informal slang us
noun (4) verb (7)

noun

1.

(Scandanavian folklore) a supernatural creature (either a dwarf or a giant) that is supposed to live in caves or in the mountains

2.

a partsong in which voices follow each other; one voice starts and others join in one after another until all are singing different parts of the song at the same time

  • “they enjoyed singing rounds”
Synonyms
3.

a fisherman''s lure that is used in trolling

  • “he used a spinner as his troll”
4.

angling by drawing a baited line through the water

Synonyms

verb

1.
2.

cause to move round and round

  • “The child trolled her hoop”
3.

sing the parts of (a round) in succession

4.

angle with a hook and line drawn through the water

5.

sing loudly and without inhibition

6.

praise or celebrate in song

  • “All tongues shall troll you”
7.

Origin

The verb is derived from Middle English trollen (“to go about, wander; to move (something) to and fro, rock; to roll; to turn”) [and other forms], of uncertain origin; perhaps in part from Old French troller (“to run here and there; to walk aimlessly, ramble, stroll; (hunting) to wander about looking for game”) (modern French troller); further etymology uncertain, yet probably from or related to Middle High German trollen (“to stroll, walk with short strides”) (modern German trollen (“to move slowly, trundle; to push off, toddle off”)), ultimately from Proto-Germanic *truzlōną (“to lumber”), which is probably related to *trudaną (“to step on, tread”) (see further at etymology 1). Doublet of trull. Verb etymology 2, verb sense 4.2.2 (“to fish using a line and bait or lures trailed behind a boat”) is possibly influenced by trail and/or trawl. The noun is probably derived from the verb. Noun etymology 2, noun sense 4 (“person who makes or posts inflammatory or insincere statements in an attempt to lure others into combative argument”) is possibly influenced by troll (etymology 1). Cognates * Middle Low German drullen (“to stroll”) (Low German trullen (“to troll”))

Phrases

  • concern troll
  • copyright troll
  • don't feed the troll
  • feed the troll
  • Internet troll
  • online troll
  • patent troll
  • RIP troll
  • troll cat
  • troll crab

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.