Definify.com

Webster 1913 Edition

Troll

Troll

,
Noun.
[Icel.
troll
. Cf.
Droll
,
Trull
.]
(Scand. Myth.)
A supernatural being, often represented as of diminutive size, but sometimes as a giant, and fabled to inhabit caves, hills, and like places; a witch.
Troll flower
.
(Bot.)
Same as
Globeflower
(a)
.

Troll

,
Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Trolled
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Trolling
.]
[OE.
trollen
to roll, F.
trôler
, Of.
troller
to drag about, to ramble; probably of Teutonic origin; cf. G.
trollen
to roll, ramble, sich
trollen
to be gone; or perhaps for
trotler
, fr. F.
trotter
to trot (cf.
Trot
.). Cf.
Trawl
.]
1.
To move circularly or volubly; to roll; to turn.
To dress and
troll
the tongue, and roll the eye.
Milton.
2.
To send about; to circulate, as a vessel in drinking.
Then doth she
troll
to the bowl.
Gammer Gurton’s Needle.
Troll
the brown bowl.
Sir W. Scott.
3.
To sing the parts of in succession, as of a round, a catch, and the like; also, to sing loudly or freely.
Will you
troll
the catch ?
Shakespeare
His sonnets charmed the attentive crowd,
By wide-mouthed mortal
trolled
aloud.
Hudibras.
4.
To angle for with a trolling line, or with a book drawn along the surface of the water; hence, to allure.
5.
To fish in; to seek to catch fish from.
With patient angle
trolls
the finny deep.
Goldsmith.

Troll

,
Verb.
I.
1.
To roll; to run about; to move around;
as, to
troll
in a coach and six
.
2.
To move rapidly; to wag.
F. Beaumont.
3.
To take part in trolling a song.
4.
To fish with a rod whose line runs on a reel; also, to fish by drawing the hook through the water.
Their young men . . .
trolled
along the brooks that abounded in fish.
Bancroft.

Troll

,
Noun.
1.
The act of moving round; routine; repetition.
Burke.
2.
A song the parts of which are sung in succession; a catch; a round.
Thence the catch and
troll
, while “Laughter, holding both his sides,” sheds tears to song and ballad pathetic on the woes of married life.
Prof. Wilson.
3.
A trolley.
Troll plate
(Mach.)
,
a rotative disk with spiral ribs or grooves, by which several pieces, as the jaws of a chuck, can be brought together or spread radially.

Webster 1828 Edition

Troll

TROLL

,
Verb.
T.
To move in a circular direction; to roll; to move volubly; to turn; to drive about.
They learn to roll the eye, and troll the tongue.
Troll about the bridal bow.

TROLL

,
Verb.
I.
To roll; to run about; as, to troll in a coach and six.
1.
Among anglers, to fish for pikes with a rod whose line runs on a wheel or pulley.

Definition 2024

Troll

Troll

See also: troll, tröll, and trøll

English

Proper noun

Troll

  1. (slang) a native or resident of the Lower Peninsula of Michigan

Hypernyms

German

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /tʀɔl/

Noun

Troll m ‎(genitive Trolls or Trolles, plural Trolle)

  1. troll (fictitious creature in mythology and literature)
  2. (Internet) troll

Declension

troll

troll

See also: Troll, tröll, and trøll

English

Noun

troll ‎(plural trolls)

  1. (fantasy) A supernatural being of varying size, now especially a grotesque humanoid creature living in caves or hills or under bridges. [from early 17th c.]
    • 2013 June 8, “Obama goes troll-hunting”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8839, page 55:
      The solitary, lumbering trolls of Scandinavian mythology would sometimes be turned to stone by exposure to sunlight. Barack Obama is hoping that several measures announced on June 4th will have a similarly paralysing effect on their modern incarnation, the patent troll.
  2. (slang) An ugly person of either sex, especially one seeking sexual experiences.
  3. (astronomy, meteorology) Optical ejections from the top of the electrically active core regions of thunderstorms that are red in color that seem to occur after tendrils of vigorous sprites extend downward toward the cloud tops.
Translations

Etymology 2

From Middle English troll ‎(“to go about", "to stroll", "to roll from side to side”), from Old French troller ‎(“to quest, to wander”) (French trôler) and Middle High German trollen ‎(“to stroll”); fishing sense possibly influenced by trawl and/or trail

Verb

troll ‎(third-person singular simple present trolls, present participle trolling, simple past and past participle trolled)

  1. (intransitive) To saunter. [from late 14th c.]
  2. (intransitive) To trundle, to roll from side to side. [from early 15th c.]
  3. (transitive, figuratively) To draw someone or something out, to entice, to lure as if with trailing bait. [from the 1500s]
    1906: It was necessary to troll them along two years with the hope of employing their usual methods, in order to get them to a place too far from their starting-point for retreat. — Thomas William Lawson, "Fools and Their Money: Some After-Claps of Frenzied Finance", Everybody's Magazine XIV(5) May 1906, p. 690
  4. (intransitive, fishing, by extension) To fish using a line and bait or lures trailed behind a boat similarly to trawling; to lure fish with bait. [from circa 1600]
    • Bancroft
      Their young men […] trolled along the brooks that abounded in fish.
  5. (transitive) To angle for with a trolling line, or with a hook drawn along the surface of the water; hence, to allure.
  6. (transitive) To fish in; to try to catch fish from.
    • Goldsmith
      With patient angle trolls the finny deep.
  7. (slang, intransitive) To stroll about in order to find a sexual partner, to cruise (originally homosexual slang). [from 20th c.]
    His favorite place to troll is that bar on 42nd street.
    I am trolling for custom, said the actress to the bishop.
  8. (intransitive, Internet slang) (to post inflammatory material so as) to attempt to lure others into combative argument for purposes of personal entertainment and/or gratuitous disruption, especially in an online community or discussion [from late 20th c.]
  9. (transitive, Internet slang) By extension, to incite anger (including outside of an internet context); to provoke, harass or annoy.
    • 1994 March 8, “Robert Royar” (username), “OK, here's more on trolling”, in comp.edu.composition, Usenet:
      trolling isn't aimed at newbies. It's aimed at self-important people
Translations

Noun

troll ‎(plural trolls)

  1. An instance of trolling, especially, in fishing, the trailing of a baited line. [from circa 1600]
  2. (colloquial) A person who provokes others (chiefly on the Internet) for their own personal amusement or to cause disruption. [from late 20th c.]
Translations
Derived terms
Related terms

Etymology 3

From Middle English trollen, trollin ‎(“to walk, wander”). Cognate with Low German trullen ‎(“to troll”).

Verb

troll ‎(third-person singular simple present trolls, present participle trolling, simple past and past participle trolled)

  1. (transitive, intransitive, obsolete) To move circularly; to roll; to turn. [from the 15th c.]
    • Milton
      to dress and troll the tongue, and roll the eye
  2. (transitive, obsolete) To send about; to circulate, as a vessel in drinking.
    • Gammer Gurton's Needle
      Then doth she troll to the bowl.
    • Sir Walter Scott
      Troll the brown bowl.
  3. (transitive, intransitive, archaic) To sing the parts of in succession, as of a round, a catch, and the like; also, to sing loudly, freely or in a carefree way. [from the 16th c.]
    • Shakespeare
      Will you troll the catch?
    • Hudibras
      His sonnets charmed the attentive crowd, / By wide-mouthed mortal trolled aloud.
    Troll the ancient Yuletide carol. Fa la la la la la la la la.

Noun

troll ‎(plural trolls)

  1. The act of moving round; routine; repetition.
    (Can we find and add a quotation of Burke to this entry?)
  2. A song whose parts are sung in succession; a catch; a round.
    • Professor Wilson
      Thence the catch and troll, while "Laughter, holding both his sides," sheds tears to song and ballad pathetic on the woes of married life.
  3. (obsolete) A trolley.
Derived terms

References

  1. ↑ Bokmål- og nynorskordboka, Universitetet i Oslo

French

Etymology 1

From Swedish troll, from Old Norse trǫll, from Proto-Germanic *truzlą, from Proto-Indo-European *derǝ-, *drā-.

Noun

troll m ‎(plural trolls)

  1. troll (mythical being)

Etymology 2

Borrowing from English troll.

Noun

troll m ‎(plural trolls)

  1. troll (inflammatory poster on the Internet)

Italian

Noun

troll m ‎(invariable)

  1. troll (grotesque person, Internet troll)

Derived terms

Norwegian Bokmål

troll

Etymology

From Old Norse trǫll, from Proto-Germanic *truzlą, from Proto-Indo-European *derǝ-, *drā-.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /trol/, [tɾɔl]
  • Rhymes: -ɔl

Noun

troll n ‎(definite singular trollet, indefinite plural troll, definite plural trolla or trollene)

  1. troll (supernatural being)

Derived terms

Norwegian Nynorsk

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /trol/

Noun

troll n ‎(definite singular trollet, indefinite plural troll, definite plural trolla)

  1. troll (supernatural being)

Portuguese

Alternative forms

Noun

troll m (plural trolls)

  1. (fantasy, Norse mythology) troll (large, grotesque humanoid living in caves, hills or under bridges)
  2. (Internet) troll (person who provokes others and causes disruption)

Spanish

Noun

troll m ‎(plural trolls)

  1. Alternative spelling of trol

Swedish

Etymology

From Old Norse trǫll, from Proto-Germanic *truzlą, from Proto-Indo-European *derǝ-, *drā-.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /trɔl/

Noun

troll n

  1. troll (supernatural being)

Declension

Inflection of troll 
Singular Plural
Indefinite Definite Indefinite Definite
Nominative troll trollet troll trollen
Genitive trolls trollets trolls trollens

See also

Etymology

A term coined by Yoopers to refer to residents of the Lower Peninsula of Michigan, because trolls live "under the bridge" (referring to the Mackinac Bridge).

Similar Results