Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

troll

/tɹɑl/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.73 in modern English

Syllables
troll
IPA
/tɹɑl/
5
Scrabble Score
5
Letters
1
Syllables
4
Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

An ugly or unpleasant person.

Derogatory; Slang

noun

A Michigander who lives on the mainland, i.e. not a resident of the Upper Peninsula, so named due to living south of the Mackinaw Bridge.

Informal

verb

Senses relating to a rolling motion.

Transitive verb

verb

Senses relating to a rolling motion.

Obsolete; Transitive verb

verb

Senses relating to a rolling motion.

Intransitive verb

Example Sentences

Etymology

Partly: * from Middle English trol (“demon (?); sorcerer (?)”) [and other forms], from Old Norse trǫll (“conjurer, mage; witch”), from Proto-Germanic *truzlą (“supernatural being; demon, fiend; giant; monster”), probably from *trudaną (“to step on; to tread”) + *-ilą (suffix forming agent nouns); and * borrowed from Norwegian Bokmål troll, Swedish troll, or Danish trold, from Old Norse trǫll (see above). Doublet of droll and trow. Cognates * Danish fortrylle (“to bewitch”), trylle (“to conjure”) * Icelandic tröll * Middle High German trol, crewtrolle (“spook, wraith; ogre, monster”) * Norwegian fortrylle (“to bewitch”), trylle (“to conjure”) * Swedish trolla (“to conjure”)

Origin

Word Breakdown

  • Root: trol, trǫll, *truzlą, troll, trold, trollen

Regional Pronunciation

  • American English: /tɹɑl/
  • British English: /tɹɒl/

Usage

Inflected Forms

Derived Forms

Phrases

Frequently Paired Words

Synonyms

Antonyms

Rhymes With

Questions

How do you pronounce troll?
The recorded pronunciation is /tɹɑl/.
What does troll mean?
a giant supernatural being, especially a grotesque humanoid creature living in caves or hills or under bridges.
Where does troll come from?
It is traced to Middle English.

How to pronounce troll

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “troll”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/tɹɑl/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “troll”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “troll” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.