troll Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun (Scandanavian folklore) a supernatural creature (either a dwarf or a giant) that is supposed to live in caves or in the mountains
  2. noun a partsong in which voices follow each other; one voice starts and others join in one after another until all are singing different parts of the song at the same time
    round.
    • they enjoyed singing rounds
  3. noun a fisherman's lure that is used in trolling
    • he used a spinner as his troll
  4. noun angling by drawing a baited line through the water
    trolling.
  5. verb circulate, move around
  6. verb cause to move round and round
    • The child trolled her hoop
  7. verb sing the parts of (a round) in succession
  8. verb angle with a hook and line drawn through the water
  9. verb sing loudly and without inhibition
  10. verb praise or celebrate in song
    • All tongues shall troll you
  11. verb speak or recite rapidly or in a rolling voice

WordNet

Troll noun
Etymology
Icel. troll. Cf. Droll, Trull.
Definitions
  1. (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 transitive verb
Etymology
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.
Wordforms
imperfect & past participle Trolled ; present participle & verbal noun Trolling
Definitions
  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 ? Shak.
    His sonnets charmed the attentive crowd, By wide-mouthed mortaltrolled 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 intransitive verb
Definitions
  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
Definitions
  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.

Webster 1913