A Trophy Marked the Spot Where the Enemy Turned
A trophy is a prize for victory. The Greek original was a monument built on the battlefield at the point where the enemy turned and fled.
A trophy is an object awarded for victory. The Greek *tropaion* was far more specific: a monument set up on the battlefield at the exact place where the enemy line broke and turned. It came from *trope*, a turning — the same root as *tropic*, where the sun turns back. A cup on a shelf is a portable version of a mark left on the ground.
- A prize. *He lifted the trophy.*
- A hunting memento. *Trophy hunting.*
- A trophy cabinet. *The trophy cabinet is empty.*
- Trophy wife — a disparaging term for a spouse displayed as a status symbol. *The trophy wife cliché.*
- Trophies — the plural. *A shelf of trophies.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | trophy | A silver trophy. |
| Plural | trophies | Several trophies. |
| Adjective | trophy | A trophy cabinet. |
| Greek | tropaion | A battlefield monument. |
| Related | tropic | The Tropic of Cancer. |
- The trophy stays in the club for a year.Sport.
- Trophy hunting remains legal in some countries.Contested practice.
- A Greek trophy was built where the enemy broke.The original.
Words from Greek trope, a turning
- Trophy — the point where the enemy turned
- Tropic — the latitude where the sun appears to turn back
- Trope — a figure of speech, a turn of phrase
- Heliotrope — a plant that turns towards the sun
- Entropy — coined in 1865 from the same root, meaning a turning towards
Greek *tropaion*, from *trope*, a turning or rout, through Latin *trophaeum* and French. English took it in the 1500s.
What was a Greek trophy?
A monument of captured arms set up on the battlefield at the spot where the enemy turned and fled.
Are trophy and tropic related?
Yes. Both come from the Greek word for a turning: one for a fleeing army, the other for the sun's apparent reversal.