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Troll

 - 10 dictionary results

troll

1  [trohl] ,
Use Troll in a Sentence
–verb (used with object)
1. to sing or utter in a full, rolling voice.
2. to sing in the manner of a round or catch.
3. to fish for or in with a moving line, working the line up or down with a rod, as in fishing for pike, or trailing the line behind a slow-moving boat.
4. to move (the line or bait) in doing this.
5. to cause to turn round and round; roll.
6. Obsolete. to hand around, as a bowl of liquor at table.
–verb (used without object)
7. to sing with a full, rolling voice; give forth full, rolling tones.
8. to be uttered or sounded in such tones.
9. to fish by trolling.
10. to roll; turn round and round.
11. to move nimbly, as the tongue in speaking.
–noun
12. a song whose parts are sung in succession; a round.
13. the act of trolling.
14. a lure used in trolling for fish.
15. the fishing line containing the lure and hook for use in trolling.
Origin:
1350–1400; ME trollen to roll, stroll < MF troller to run here and there < MHG trollen walk or run with short steps

Related forms:
troller, noun

troll

2  [trohl] ,
–noun
1. (in Scandinavian folklore) any of a race of supernatural beings, sometimes conceived as giants and sometimes as dwarfs, inhabiting caves or subterranean dwellings.
2. Slang. a person who lives or sleeps in a park or under a viaduct or bridge, as a bag lady or derelict.
Origin:
1610–20; < ON troll demon
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To Troll
troll 1   (trōl)   
v.   trolled, troll·ing, trolls

v.   tr.

    1. To fish for by trailing a baited line from behind a slowly moving boat.

    2. To fish in by trailing a baited line: troll the lake for bass.

    3. To trail (a baited line) in fishing.

    4. To sing in succession the parts of (a round, for example).

    5. To sing heartily: troll a carol.

  2. Slang To patrol (an area) in search for someone or something: "[Criminals] troll bus stations for young runaways" (Pete Axthelm).

  3. Music

    1. To sing in succession the parts of (a round, for example).

    2. To sing heartily: troll a carol.

  4. To roll or revolve.

v.   intr.

  1. To fish by trailing a line, as from a moving boat.

    1. To wander about; ramble.

    2. Slang To patrol an area in search for someone or something.

  3. Music To sing heartily or gaily.

  4. To roll or spin around.

n.  

    1. The act of trolling for fish.

    2. A lure, such as a spoon or spinner, that is used for trolling.

  2. Music A vocal composition in successive parts; a round.


[Middle English trollen, to wander about, from Old French troller, of Germanic origin.]
troll'er n.
troll 2   (trōl)   
n.  A supernatural creature of Scandinavian folklore, variously portrayed as a friendly or mischievous dwarf or as a giant, that lives in caves, in the hills, or under bridges.

[Old Norse.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Slang Dictionary
troll

  1. n.
    an ugly person; a grouchy person. : Gee, that dame is a real troll. What's her problem?
  2. n.
    an internet user who sends inflammatory or provocative messages designed to elicit negative responses or start a flame-war. (As a fisherman trolls for an unsuspecting fish.) : Don't answer those silly messages. Some troll is just looking for an argument.
  3. n.
    a message sent by a troll (sense 2). : Every time I get a troll, I just delete it.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Word Origin & History

troll  (v.)
1377, "to go about, stroll," later (c.1425) "roll from side to side, trundle," from O.Fr. troller, a hunting term, "wander, to go in quest of game without purpose," from a Gmc. source (cf. O.H.G. trollen "to walk with short steps"), from P.Gmc. *truzlanan. Sense of "sing in a full, rolling voice" (first attested 1575) and that of "fish with a moving line" (1606) are both extended technical applications of the general sense of "roll, trundle," the latter perhaps confused with trail or trawl. Fig. sense of "to draw on as with a moving bait, entice, allure" is from 1565. Meaning "to cruise in search of sexual encounters" is recorded from 1967, originally in homosexual slang.

troll  (n.)
"ugly dwarf or giant," 1616, from O.N. troll "giant, fiend, demon." Some speculate that it originally meant "creature that walks clumsily," and derives from P.Gmc. *truzlan, from *truzlanan (see troll (v.)). But it seems to have been a general supernatural word, cf. Swed. trolla "to charm, bewitch;" O.N. trolldomr "witchcraft." The old sagas tell of the troll-bull, a supernatural being in the form of a bull, as well as boar-trolls. There were troll-maidens, troll-wives, and troll-women; the trollman, a magician or wizard, and the troll-drum, used in Lappish magic rites. The word was popularized in Eng. by 19c. antiquarians, but it has been current in the Shetlands and Orkneys since Viking times. The first record of it is from a court document from the Shetlands, regarding a certain Catherine, who, among other things, was accused of "airt and pairt of witchcraft and sorcerie, in hanting and seeing the Trollis ryse out of the kyrk yeard of Hildiswick." Originally conceived as a race of giants, they have suffered the same fate as the Celtic Danann and are now regarded in Denmark and Sweden as dwarfs and imps supposed to live in caves or under the ground.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Computing Dictionary

TROLL
An array language for continuous simulation, econometric modelling or statistical analysis.
["TROLL Reference Manual", D0062, Info Proc Services, MIT (1973-76)].

troll
An electronic mail message, Usenet posting or other (electronic) communication which is intentionally incorrect, but not overtly controversial (compare flame bait), or the act of sending such a message. Trolling aims to elicit an emotional reaction from those with a hair-trigger on the reply key. A really subtle troll makes some people lose their minds.
(1994-10-17)

The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing, © 1993-2007 Denis Howe
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Encyclopedia

troll

in early Scandinavian folklore, giant, monstrous being, sometimes possessing magic powers. Hostile to men, trolls lived in castles and haunted the surrounding districts after dark. If exposed to sunlight they burst or turned to stone. In later tales trolls often are man-sized or smaller beings similar to dwarfs and elves. They live in mountains, sometimes steal human maidens, and can transform themselves and prophesy. In the Shetland and Orkney islands, Celtic areas once settled by Scandinavians, trolls are called trows and appear as small malign creatures who dwell in mounds or near the sea. In the plays of the Norwegian dramatist Henrik Ibsen, especially Peer Gynt (1867) and The Master Builder (1892), trolls are used as symbols of destructive instincts. Trolls in modern tales for children often live under bridges, menacing travelers and exacting tasks or tolls.

Learn more about troll with a free trial on Britannica.com.

Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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