What does choreus mean?
A choreus is a metrical foot used in classical Greek and Latin poetry, consisting of a long syllable followed by a short one. In English-language discussions of meter, the same pattern is far more commonly called a trochee, so 'choreus' survives mainly as a specialist term in classical scholarship. The name reflects its origin: it derives from a Greek word meaning 'of the dance,' a nod to the lively, dancing movement this rhythm gives to verse when several such feet are strung together. Readers encountering the word will usually find it in academic treatments of ancient meter, alongside terms like iamb, dactyl, and spondee. While not part of everyday vocabulary, it offers a compact example of how the vocabulary of prosody preserves the deep connection the ancient Greeks saw between poetry and dance.
nounA metrical foot in classical prosody consisting of a long syllable followed by a short one (in Greek and Latin verse), equivalent to what English metrics calls a trochee.
- In classical Greek and Latin prosody: a metrical foot consisting of a long syllable followed by a short one, known in English metrics as a trochee.
"The opening line of the poem moves in a brisk choreus that lends it an almost dance-like energy."
"The scholar noted that the hymn's rhythm was built almost entirely on the choreus."
"Students of Latin meter often find it easier to think of the choreus simply as a trochee."
An anglicized plural; the word is so rarely used that no firmly established plural dominates, but '-es' follows standard English practice for nouns ending in -s sounds.
"The passage alternates between iambs and choreuses with striking effect."
'Choreus' literally means 'of the dance' in ancient Greek — poets named this bouncy long-short metrical foot after the way it makes verse move.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of choreus
Choreus comes from the ancient Greek 'khoreios' (χορεῖος), an adjective meaning 'of the dance' or 'suitable for dancing,' itself formed on 'khoros' (χρός/χορός), the circle-dancing ground and collective dance from which we also get 'chorus' and 'choreography.' The term entered Latin scholarly usage and passed into European learned vocabulary as writers on prosody adopted Greek metrical terminology. It has long coexisted with the simpler term 'trochee' for the same foot, which is why modern English usage favors the latter.
How choreus is actually used
A rare, highly technical term confined to discussions of classical Greek and Latin prosody; general readers and most modern poets would simply say 'trochee.'
Easily confused with choreus
A chorus is a group of singers or dancers or a repeated refrain, while a choreus is a technical term for a long-short metrical foot in classical poetry.
A trochee is the standard English-metrics term for the same long-short (or stressed-unstressed) foot, whereas 'choreus' is the older Greek-derived label used chiefly in classical prosody.