troll

plural trolls

1. Europeanalsoartsa giant supernatural being, especially a grotesque humanoid creature living in caves or hills or under bridges.First known use early 17th c.

   He followed their advice, and rode through a rye-field, where the Trolls were unable to follow him, but in their exasperation cried after him, "The red cock shall crow over thy dwelling." And behold! his house stood in a blaze.

   1851, Benjamin Thorpe, “Norwegian Traditions. [The Girl at the Sæter.]”, in Northern Mythology, […], volumes II (Scandinavian Popular Traditions and Superstitions), London: Edward Lumley, […], →OCLC, page 7

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   The Scandinavian fancied himself surrounded by Trolls,—a kind of goblin men, with vast power of work and skilful production,—divine stevedores, carpenters, reapers, smiths, and masons, swift to reward every kindness done them, with gifts of gold and silver.

   1856, R[alph] W[aldo] Emerson, “Ability”, in English Traits, Boston, Mass.: Phillips, Sampson, and Company, →OCLC, page 81

   The bear got so angry that he rushed at the trolls and scratched them all over, while Peter took the other handspike and hammered away at them as if he wanted to beat their brains out. The trolls had to clear out at last, but Peter stayed and enjoyed himself with all the Christmas fare the whole week. After that the trolls were not heard of there for many years.

   1881, P. Chr. Asbjörnsen [i.e., Peter Christen Asbjørnsen], “Peter Gynt”, in H. L. Brækstad, transl., Round the Yule Log. Norwegian Folk and Fairy Tales, London: Sampson Low, Marston, Searle, & Rivington, →OCLC, page 150

   In these manuscripts we are again in an atmosphere of eotens and trolls, there are traces of even older terrors, when the first Teuton settlers in Europe struggled with the aborigines who lived in caves, hints as elusive as the phantom heroes in the Saxon poems, and as unforgettable.

   1922, Eleanour Sinclair Rohde, “The Anglo-Saxon Herbals”, in The Old English Herbals, London: Longmans, Green and Co. […], →OCLC, page 3

   Synonyms: trow

   1. EuropeanalsoobsoleteScandinavian mythologyartsA type of diminutive supernatural being; a dwarf.

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      The more usual appellation of the Dwarfs is Troll or Trold, a word originally significant of any evil spirit, giant monster, magician, or evil person; but now in a good measure divested of its ill senses, for the Trolls are not in general regarded as noxious or malignant beings. [...] They are obliging and neighbourly; freely lending and borrowing, and elsewise keeping up a friendly intercourse with mankind.

      1828, Thomas Keightley, The Fairy Mythology, volume I, London: William Harrison Ainsworth, pages 195-161

      Synonyms: trow

2. broadlyderogatoryslangAn ugly or unpleasant person.

   Edwin Baer was an ugly troll of a man. He stood just about five feet, six inches and maybe weighed 140 pounds soaking wet.

   2012 August 29, James Classi, “Round Three”, in Heatseeker, Bloomington, Ind.: AuthorHouse, →ISBN, page 26

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   The way Torchie had talked about him, I expected him to be some kind of troll. But he could have passed for one of those actors who makes a couple of movies, gets real popular with the girls for a year or two, and then vanishes from sight. He had that kind of face.

   1999, David Lubar, “Taking the Tour”, in Hidden Talents (A Tor Book), New York, N.Y.: Tom Doherty Associates, →ISBN, page 17

   In this work, the abject object—a sculpture of a fat, hairy woman—is heartbreakingly comforted by a text that claims the artist's love and desire to protect the 'ugly' troll.

   2009, Judy Chicago, Sarah Quinton, Allyson Mitchell, Jenni Sorkin, When Women Rule the World: Judy Chicago in Thread: […], Toronto, Ont.: Textile Museum of Canada, →ISBN, page 96

   She sulked as we returned downstairs, her own more colorful clothes stuffed into her bright green shoulder bag. / "I just wish I didn't have to dress like such a troll." / "Troll? Impossible. I'm wearing beige and do I look like a troll?" / "Since you asked—"

   2010, Linda Francis Lee, chapter 13, in The Devil in the Junior League, New York, N.Y.: St. Martin’s Press, →ISBN, page 116

   Synonyms: biffer, boner-shrinker, bonerkiller, buttface, choad, frump, minger, monkey · Antonyms: beaut, beauty, bobby-dazzler, crumpet, dish, vision, dreamboat, eye candy

3. broadlyastronomyAn optical ejection from the top of the electrically active core region of a thunderstorm that is red in colour and seems to occur after tendrils of vigorous sprites extend downward towards cloudtops.
4. broadlyinformalMichiganA 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.

   People from the Upper Peninsula—the UP, or the Yoop—some-times call citizens of northern Michigan trolls, because they live “below the bridge.”

   2014 May 28, Jerome Pohlen, Oddball Michigan: A Guide to 450 Really Strange Places, Chicago Review Press, →ISBN

present singular third person trolls · participle present trolling · participle past trolled · past trolled · first person past singular trolled · archaic present second person singular trollest · past second person singular trolled · archaic past second person singular trolledst · present singular third person trolls · archaic present singular third person trolleth · past singular third person trolled · past plural trolled · past subjunctive trolled · participle present trolling · participle past trolled · alternative trowl

1. Senses relating to a rolling motion.
   1. transitiveTo move (something, especially a round object) by, or as if by, rolling; to bowl, to roll, to trundle.First known use 15th c.

      […] I was wont to trowl down the nine-pins in the skittle-ground— […]

      1822 May 29, [Walter Scott], chapter X, in The Fortunes of Nigel. […], volume II (in English), Edinburgh: […] [James Ballantyne and Co.] for Archibald Constable and Co.; London: Hurst, Robinson, and Co., →OCLC, page 237

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      Take trustie (to trust to) that thinkest to thee, / That trustily thriftines trowleth to thee.

      1878, Thomas Tusser, “A Briefe Conclusion, where You may See, ech Word in the Verse, to Begin with a T”, in Five Hundred Pointes of Good Husbandrie. […], London: Published for the English Dialect Society by Trübner & Co., […], →OCLC; republished as W[illiam] Payne, Sidney J[ohn Hervon] Herrtage, editors, Five Hundred Pointes of Good Husbandrie. […], London: Published for the English Dialect Society by Trübner & Co., […], 1878, →OCLC, stanza 2, page 137

      [T]o trovvle in the caſh throughout all nations chriſtendome there is no fellovve to the red herring.

      1599, [Thomas] Nashe, Nashes Lenten Stuffe, […], London: […] [Thomas Judson and Valentine Simmes] for N[icholas] L[ing] and C[uthbert] B[urby] […], →OCLC, page 26

      She fancied these Elysian shades / The sweetest place for masquerades: / How pleasant on the banks of Styx, / To troll it in a coach and six!

      1730, Jonathan Swift, “Death and Daphne. To an Agreeable Young Lady, but Extremely Lean. […]”, in Thomas Sheridan, John Nichols, editors, The Works of the Rev. Jonathan Swift, […], new edition, volume VIII, London: […] J[oseph] Johnson, […], published 1801, →OCLC, page 66

      My ancestors drummed for King Harry, / The Huguenot lad of Navarre. / And as each man in life has his station / According as Fortune may fix, / While Condé was waving the baton, / My grandsire was trolling the sticks.

      1841, M. A. Titmarsh [pseudonym; William Makepeace Thackeray], “The Chronicle of the Drum. Part I.”, in The Second Funeral of Napoleon: […] And The Chronicle of the Drum. […], London: Hugh Cunningham, […], →OCLC, page 88

   2. obsoletetransitiveOften followed by in: to cause (something) to flow or roll in like a stream.
   3. intransitiveTo roll; also, to turn round and round; to rotate, to spin, to whirl.First known use early 15th c.

      Mrs Putler, this is Lady—Lady—these tamn'd Southern names rin out o' my head like a stane trowling down hill— […]

      1818 July 25, Jedediah Cleishbotham [pseudonym; Walter Scott], chapter XIII, in Tales of My Landlord, Second Series, […] (The Heart of Mid-Lothian), volume IV, Edinburgh: […] [James Ballantyne and Co.] for Archibald Constable and Company, →OCLC, pages 274–275

   4. intransitiveTo move or walk at a leisurely pace; to ramble, to saunter, to stroll.First known use late 14th c.

      Prepoſt'rous foole, thou troul'ſt amiſſe: / Thou err'ſt; That's not the vvay, 'Tis this: / Thy hopes, inſtructed by thine Eye, / Make thee appeare more neare than I; […]

      1635, Fra[ncis] Quarles, “Canto XI. Mat[thew] VII. XIV.”, in Emblemes, London: […] G[eorge] M[iller] and sold at at Iohn Marriots shope […], →OCLC, book II, stanza 1, page 105

   5. intransitiveslangspecificallyChiefly of a man: synonym of cruise (“to stroll about to find a (male) sexual partner”).First known use 20th c.
   6. intransitiveobsoleteFollowed by in: to flow or roll in like a stream.

      This little ape gets money by the sack-full, / It trolls upon her.

      c. 1623 (date written; published 1653), Thomas Middleton, William Rowley, Thomas Dekker, John Ford, “The Spanish Gipsy”, in A[rthur] H[enry] Bullen, editor, The Works of Thomas Middleton […] (The English Dramatists), volume VI, London: John C. Nimmo […], published 1885, →OCLC, Act I, scene v, page 132

2. Senses relating to the motion of passing around.
   1. archaictransitiveentertainmentTo sing the parts of (a catch, round, or similar song) in succession; also (generally), to sing (a song) freely or in a carefree way, or loudly.First known use 16th c.

      But hark! our merry-men so gay / Troll forth another roundelay.

      1813, Walter Scott, “Canto Third”, in Rokeby; a Poem, Edinburgh: […] [F]or John Ballantyne and Co. […]; London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown; by James Ballantyne and Co., […], →OCLC, stanza XXVIII, page 143

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      [Caliban] Thou mak'ſt me merry: I am full of pleaſure, Let vs be iocond. VVill you troule the Catch You taught me but vvhileare?

      1610–1611 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tempest”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene ii], page 12, column 2

      His Sonnets charm'd the attentive Crowd, / By wide-mouth'd Mortal troul'd aloud; […]

      1663 (indicated as 1664), [Samuel Butler], “The Second Part of Hudibras. Canto III.”, in Hudibras. The First and Second Parts. […], London: […] John Martyn and Henry Herringman, […], published 1678, →OCLC; republished in A[lfred] R[ayney] Waller, editor, Hudibras: Written in the Time of the Late Wars, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: University Press, 1905, →OCLC, page 162

      [S]he vvould be more vvelcome to thee than a Reprieve vvould, if thou vvert juſt novv trolling out Hopkins and Sternhold upon a Ladder.

      1672, Thomas Shadwell, The Miser: A Comedy, […], London: […] Thomas Collins and John Ford, […], →OCLC, Act I, page 2

      Good Snell, do thou a burthen try / Shall change our sadness into joy: / Such as thou trollest in blythe mood, / On days of sunshine in the wood.

      1846, Thomas Cooper, “Canto II”, in The Baron’s Yule Feast: A Christmas-rhyme, London: Jeremiah How […], →OCLC, page 34

      Deck the hall with boughs of holly, / Fa, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la! / 'Tis the season to be jolly: / Fa, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la! / Fill the meadcup, drain the barrel, / Fa, la, la, la, la, la, la, la! / Troul the ancient Christmas carol. / Fa, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la!

      1862, Thomas Oliphant; John Thomas, arranger, “Nos Galan. New Year’s Eve. [no. 15]”, in Welsh Melodies, with Welsh and English Poetry […], volume II, London: Addison, Hollier, & Lucas, →OCLC, page 140

   2. obsoletetransitiveTo pass (something, specifically a bowl or other communal drinking vessel) from one person to another; to circulate, to send about.

      Trowle the boll, the iolly Nut-browne boll, / And here kind mate to thee: / Let's ſing a dirge for Saint Hughes ſoule, / And downe it merrily.

      1599 (first performance; published 1600), Thomas Dekker, “The Shomakers Holiday. Or The Gentle Craft. […]. The Second Three-mans Song.”, in The Dramatic Works of Thomas Dekker […], volume I, London: John Pearson […], published 1873, →OCLC, page 6

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      And Tyb my wyfe, that as her lyfe / loueth well good ale to ſeeke, / Full ofte drynkes ſhee, tyll ye may ſee / the teares run downe her cheekes: / Then dooth ſhe trowle, to mee the bowle / euen as a mault worme shuld, / And ſayth ſweete hart, I took my part / of this ioly good ale and olde.

      c. 1553 (date written), “S.” [pseudonym; attributed to William Stevenson], […] Gammer Gurtons Nedle: […], London: […] Thomas Colwell, published 1575, →OCLC, Act II, scene i, signature B, verso

      Come, trowl the brown bowl to me, / Bully boy, bully boy, / Come, trowl the brown bowl to me: / Ho! jolly Jenkin, I spy a knave in drinking, / Come, trowl the brown bowl to me.

      1819 December 20 (indicated as 1820), Walter Scott, chapter VI, in Ivanhoe; a Romance. […], volume II, Edinburgh: […] Archibald Constable and Co.; London: Hurst, Robinson, and Co. […], →OCLC, page 88

   3. archaicintransitiveOf bells: to ring a sequence of tones in a resounding manner.
   4. archaicintransitiveentertainmentOf a person: to sing the parts of a catch, round, or similar song in succession; also (generally), to sing freely or in a carefree way, or loudly.

      [H]e trolled with ample lungs; and the sound of his voice took hold upon the hillside and set the air shaking in the leafy glens.

      1879, Robert Louis Stevenson, “[Upper Gévaudan (continued).] A Night among the Pines.”, in Travels with a Donkey in the Cévennes, 1st American edition, Boston, Mass.: Roberts Brothers, →OCLC, page 140

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      The Greeks figured Pan, the god of Nature, now terribly stamping his foot, so that armies were dispersed; now by the woodside on a summer noon trolling on his pipe until he charmed the hearts of upland ploughmen.

      1878, Robert Louis Stevenson, “Pan’s Pipes”, in Virginibus Puerisque and Other Papers, London: C[harles] Kegan Paul & Co., […], published 1881, →OCLC, pages 280–281

      [H]e opened his stall and spread his meat upon the bench, then, taking his cleaver and steel and clattering them together, he trolled aloud in merry tones:— […]

      1883, Howard Pyle, “Robin Hood Turns Butcher”, in The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood […], New York, N.Y.: […] Charles Scribner’s Sons […], →OCLC, part second, page 49

      Here Challander trolleth from the crucified vine; / The Ring-dove moaneth, chattereth the Stare; / The snowy Culver fast from nest doth fare / The Throstle percheth high on olive-tine: […]

      1884 October, Camoens [i.e., Luís de Camões], “[Canzons.] Canzon XVI. Por Meyo de Humas Serras Muy Fragosas, (a Country Piece: Imitation of Gaspar Gil Polo’s Rimas Provenzales).”, in Richard F[rancis] Burton, transl., The Lyricks. […], volume II, London: Bernard Quaritch, […], →OCLC, , stanza V, page 336

   5. archaicintransitiveentertainmentOf a song: to be sung freely or in a carefree way, or loudly; also, of a tune: to be constantly in someone's mind.

      Then he strolled away, an air from "The Grand Duchess" lightly trolling from his lips.

      1890, J[ames] M[atthew] Barrie, “The Murder in the Inn”, in My Lady Nicotine: A Study in Smoke, Boston, Mass.: Joseph Knight Company, published 1896, →OCLC, pages 248–249

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      I have had the moſt happy invention this morning, and a Tune trouling in my head; […]

      1677 (date written), John Dryden, The Kind Keeper; or, Mr. Limberham: A Comedy: […], London: […] R[ichard] Bentley, and M[ary] Magnes, […], published 1680, →OCLC, Act III, scene i, page 30

   6. intransitiveobsoleteOf a bowl or other communal drinking vessel, or the drink inside it: to be passed around from one person to another.

      Novv the cups trole about to vvet the goſſips vvhiſtles / It poures dovvne I faith, they neuer thinke of payment.

      c. 1613 (date written), Thomas Midelton [i.e., Thomas Middleton], A Chast Mayd in Cheape-side. A Pleasant Conceited Comedy […], London: […] Francis Constable, […], published 1630, →OCLC, Act III, page 34

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      Well can the green-garbed ranger tell, / How, when, and where, the monster fell; / […] / While round the merry wassel bowl, / Garnished with ribbons, blithe did trowl.

      1808 February 22, Walter Scott, “Introduction to Canto Sixth: To Richard Heber, Esq.”, in Marmion; a Tale of Flodden Field, Edinburgh: […] J[ames] Ballantyne and Co. for Archibald Constable and Company, […]; London: William Miller, and John Murray, →OCLC, page 302

3. Senses relating to a light, quick motion.
   1. transitiveTo say (something) lightly and quickly, or in a deep, resounding voice.

      But they [people from Pisa] speak well out, trolling the words clearly over the tongue.

      1850, Leigh Hunt, “Lord Byron in Italy—Shelley—Pisa”, in The Autobiography of Leigh Hunt; […], volume III, London: Smith, Elder and Co., […], →OCLC, page 50

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      VVhat does hee elſe but cant? Or if he runne / To his Iudiciall Aſtrologie, / And trovvle the Trine, the Quartile and the Sextile, / […] / Does not he cant? VVho here does vnderſtand him?

      1625 (first performance), Ben[jamin] Jonson, The Staple of Newes. […], London: […] I[ohn] B[eale] for Robert Allot […], published 1631, →OCLC, Act IV, scene iv, page 59

   2. obsoletetransitiveTo move (the tongue) lightly and quickly when speaking.

      [T]hat fair femal Troop […] / Bred onely and completed to the taſte / Of luſtful appetence, to ſing, to dance, / To dreſs, and troule the Tongue, and roule the Eye.

      1667, John Milton, “Book X”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC, lines 610 and 614–616

   3. intransitiveTo speak lightly and quickly, or in a deep, resounding voice.

      Such ſhuld be our trollynges⸝ Chriſt vs ſo teacheth / Commaunding euer peace⸝ amonges vs for to be / Vntruly he trolleth⸝ that otherwyſe preacheth / Styreng to any ſedicion⸝ malyce or enuye

      [1540], Thomas Smyth, “A Lytell Treatyse agaynst Sedicyous Persons”, in William Carew Hazlitt, editor, Fugitive Tracts Written in Verse which Illustrate the Condition of Religious and Political Feeling in England […] (First Series (1493–1600)), [London: […] Chiswick Press, Whittingham and Wilkins] […], published 1875, →OCLC

   4. intransitiveobsoleteTo move lightly and quickly; especially of the tongue when speaking; to wag.

      Fill him but a boule, it will make his tongue troule, / For flowing speech flows from a [pot of good ale].

      a. 1617 (date written), Francis Beaumont, “The Ex-ale-tation of Ale”, in The Works of the English Poets, from Chaucer to Cowper; […], volume VI, London: […] J[oseph] Johnson [et al.], published 1810, →OCLC, page 205, column 2

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      His tongue troules like a Mill-clack: a towzes the Lady ſiſters, as a tumbling Dog does young Rabets; […]

      c. 1635–1636 (date written), Iohn Ford [i.e., John Ford], The Fancies, Chast and Noble: […], London: […] E[lizabeth] P[urslowe] for Henry Seile, […], published 1638, →OCLC, Act III, page 39

4. Senses relating to fishing.
   1. transitivefishingTo fish in (a place) using a running fishing line (that is, a line with a hook on the end which is drawn along the water surface, possibly a line which would originally have been spooled on to a troll (etymology 2, noun etymology 2, noun sense 8.1)).

      Chearful at morn he vvakes from ſhort repoſe, / Breaſts the keen air, and carrols as he goes; / VVith patient angle trolls the finny deep, / Or drives his vent'rous plovv-ſhare to the ſteep.

      1764 December 19 (indicated as 1765), Oliver Goldsmith, The Traveller, or A Prospect of Society. A Poem. […], London: […] J[ohn] Newbery, […], →OCLC, page 10

   2. figurativelytransitiveTo attract or draw out (someone or something); to allure, to elicit, to entice, to lure.First known use 16th c.

      One while they courſing went / Upon the top of all the ſkie: anon againe full round / They troll me downe to lower wayes and nearer to the ground.

      1567, Ovid, “The Seconde Booke”, in Arthur Golding, transl., The XV. Bookes of P. Ouidius Naso, Entytuled Metamorphosis, […], London: […] Willyam Seres […], →OCLC, folio 18, recto

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      [M]y houſe is haunted / By a levvd packe of theeves, of harlots, murtherers, / Rogues, vagabonds, I foſter a decoy here, / And ſhe trovvles on her ragged cuſtomer, / To cut my throat for pillage.

      c. 1638 May 13 (date licensed; Gregorian calendar), Iohn Ford [i.e., John Ford], The Ladies Triall. […], London: […] E. G. for Henry Shephard, […], published 1639, →OCLC, Act V, signatures I2, verso – I3, recto

      It was necessary to troll them along two years with the hope of employing their usual methods, in order to get them to a place too far from their starting-point for retreat.

      1906, Thomas William Lawson, “Fools and Their Money: Some After-claps of Frenzied Finance”, in Everybody’s Magazine, volume XIV, number 5, New York, N.Y.: North American Company, →OCLC, page 690

   3. intransitivefishingTo fish using a running fishing line.

      I, nor chuſe to bear / The thieviſh nightly net, not barbed ſpear: / Nor drain I ponds the golden carp to take, / Nor trovvle for pikes, diſpeoplers of the lake.

      1713, John Gay, “Rural Sports. A Georgic. Inscribed to Mr. [Alexander] Pope.”, in Poems on Several Occasions, volume I, London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], and Bernard Lintot, […], published 1720, →OCLC, page 16, lines 261–264

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      My flies alone disturbed the placid waters. A half-grown-up lad, who was standing behind me on the bank, advised me to "troll with bait"—a cluster of worms fastened to the hook, which is dragged in jerks over the surface of the water—and offered to find the bait for me.

      1881, P. Chr. Asbjörnsen [i.e., Peter Christen Asbjørnsen], “Legends of the Mill”, in H. L. Brækstad, transl., Round the Yule Log. Norwegian Folk and Fairy Tales, London: Sampson Low, Marston, Searle, & Rivington, →OCLC, page 153

   4. ScotlandUSintransitivefishingTo fish using a line and bait or lures trailed behind a boat similarly to trawling.First known use c. 1600

      Their young men […] trolled along the brooks that abounded in fish.

      1834–1874, George Bancroft, History of the United States, from the Discovery of the American Continent, volume (please specify |volume=I to X), Boston, Mass.: Little, Brown and Company [et al.], →OCLC

5. Senses relating to "fishing" for a reaction.
   1. figurativelyTo post irrelevant or inflammatory statements in an online discussion in an attempt to start a heated argument or to derail a conversation, either for one's personal entertainment or as part of an organized political campaign.First known use late 20th c.

      Don't pay attention to that guy, he's always trolling this board.

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      When an argument gets heated, it can often be difficult to figure out who's serious and who's just trolling.

      I trolled, and no one bit! [title]

      1993 October 11, “danny burstein”, “I trolled, and no one bit!”, in alt.folklore.urban (Usenet)

      There are plenty of commenters who disagree with me vehemently, and are also valued members of the community; if you find yourself unsure as to how to leave a comment without trolling, try asking yourself WWFD (What Would Freddie Do?). Remember, Smokey the Bear says, "Only you can prevent flame wars".

      2008 July 12, Megan McArdle, “Note to Trolls”, in James Bennet, editor, The Atlantic, Washington, D.C.: The Atlantic Monthly Group, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 25 Dec 2023

      Russian Twitter and Facebook bots trolled both the left and the right with agitprop — in what appears to have been a general effort to deepen divisions and sow political chaos in America, not to favor one party or candidate over the other.

      2017 November 19, Paul Sperry, “Here are some of the biggest myths of the Russian-collusion story”, in New York Post, New York, N.Y.: News Corp, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 30 Mar 2024

      Could you be trolling and believe in it at the same time?

      2020, Emily Segal, Mercury Retrograde, New York, N.Y.: Deluge Books, →ISBN

   2. broadlyTo persistently harass someone over the Internet.

      Many people have been trolling me due to my activism, but I don't let it get to me.

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      No one who spoke to Al Jazeera seemed surprised that 54 percent of girls had suffered some form of online harassment. […] Internet psychologist Graham Jones offers some explanations as to the mentality of people who troll online. In an email to Al Jazeera he explained that some forms of trolling could be unintentional.

      2013 December 24, Philippa H Stewart, “Online feminists are taking on the trolls”, in Al Jazeera English, archived from the original on 23 Jan 2021

      Although many media outlets were being trolled by Chinese accounts well before 2020, "the main campaign appears to have picked up steam around mid-March as a loose network of Twitter accounts designed to mimic and harass Western media", according to the Institute's researchers Elise Thomas and Albert Zang.

      2020 April 23, Chris Zappone, “Pro-China trolls fake accounts to hound foreign media over coronavirus”, in The Sydney Morning Herald, Sydney, NSW: Nine Entertainment, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 07 Jul 2022

      Bullying tactics such as trolling are used to reinforce power dynamics and keep females quiet and complacent with timeworn traditions. And while I could spend hours typing up elaborate responses to each Tweet, I have only two words for men who try to use my religion to justify misogyny: "mute" and "block."

      2021 November 8, Hafsa Lodi, “I was trolled by pro-Taliban extremists after writing about Muslim feminism”, in Business Insider, New York, N.Y.: Insider Inc., →OCLC, archived from the original on 07 Apr 2024

      According to an investigation by Tortoise Media, which examined more than one million tweets, more than 50 per cent of anti-Heard messages in the run-up to the 2022 defamation case were "inauthentic" – either from automated "bot" accounts or people hired to attack the actress. ¶ They called her an "abuser", a "liar" and a "traitor", while proclaiming Depp's innocence of domestic abuse allegations. ¶ The Tortoise podcast, Who Trolled Amber?, alleges that a number of the accounts tweeted in Arabic and were full of praise for the Saudi regime or its ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

      2024 February 27, Anita Singh, “Amber Heard 'trolled by Saudi-backed bots' during Johnny Depp court battles”, in Chris Evans, editor, The Daily Telegraph, London: Telegraph Media Group, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 06 Mar 2024

   3. broadlycolloquialTo prank, tease, or mess with someone in a lighthearted way.

      The actress was widely trolled online after accidentally revealing that she didn't know the names of the continents.

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      This is lazy outrage bait. But I am biting anyway, because while Time could have trolled readers by calling a ban for the word on "feminist" any time, the magazine is considering it in a year when the conversation about the meaning of the term is as rich as it has been in some time–even if some of that conversation is being conducted through mass culture.

      2014 November 12, Alyssa Rosenberg, “Time Magazine’s silly proposal to ban the word "feminist"”, in The Washington Post, Washington, D.C.: The Washington Post Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 13 Nov 2014

      We like to troll, we like to go the night before one of their primaries, we just, we do a little trolling, it's called we do a little trolling.

      2020 March 2, Donald Trump, President Trump Rally in Charlotte, North Carolina, via C-SPAN

      Cristiano Ronaldo's dislike of dessert has been trolled by a former teammate. ¶ Ben Foster proudly showed off his apple crumble, having joked that he was skipping dessert.

      2021 September 22, Sam Cooper, “An old teammate of Cristiano Ronaldo's trolled his dislike of dessert by scoffing a giant pudding on his YouTube channel”, in Business Insider, New York, N.Y.: Insider Inc., →OCLC, archived from the original on 07 Apr 2024

      Taylor Swift, who could've been crowned the queen of pranks in the early years of her career, is finding out what it feels like to be on the other side of a little onstage trolling.

      2024 March 11, Sammi Burke, “See One of Taylor Swift's Dancers Troll Her on Stage During '22'”, in Parade, New York, N.Y.: The Arena Group, →OCLC, archived from the original on 07 Apr 2024

      Synonyms: punk

plural trolls

1. An act of moving round; a repetition, a routine.

   1 more example

   They [legislators] reduce men to looſe counters merely for the ſake of ſimple telling, and not to figures vvhoſe povver is to ariſe from their place in the table. […] The troll of their categorical table might have informed them that there vvas ſomething elſe in the intellectual vvorld beſides ſubſtance and quantity.

   1790 November, Edmund Burke, Reflections on the Revolution in France, and on the Proceedings in Certain Societies in London Relative to that Event. […], London: […] J[ames] Dodsley, […], →OCLC, page 274

2. fishingAn act of fishing by using a running fishing line, or by trailing a line with bait or lures behind a boat.First known use c. 1600
3. fishingA fishing line, bait, or lure used to fish in these ways.
4. figurativelyAn inflammatory or insincere statement posted in an attempt to lure others into combative argument (a flame war), originally a way for regulars (long-time users) to poke light-hearted fun at new posters (especially in Usenet newsgroups) and promote in-group cohesion ("trolling for newbies").

   Synonyms: bait, flamebait, ragebait

5. broadlyA person who makes or posts inflammatory or insincere statements in an attempt to lure others into combative argument for purposes of personal entertainment or to manipulate their perception, especially in an online community or discussion.First known use late 20th c.

   But [US Vice President J.D.] Vance has his own agenda, and he poorly served his president in service to it. What is his agenda? To be America’s foremost troll.

   2025 February 28, Jonah Goldberg, “Dishonor and Incompetence in the Oval Office”, in The Dispatch

   5 more examples

   Katie Hopkins: My Fat Story 9pm, TLC The professional troll and one-time Apprentice stirrer piles on the pounds in order to shed them in this two-part doc, which feels at times like an overly long This Morning item.

   2014 December 19, “Friday 2 January's best TV”, in Alan Rusbridger, editor, The Guardian, London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 07 Nov 2023

   That tendency to overdo it became visible as the worst kind of trolling on the internet about a decade ago, when griefers exported their habits from the gaming world into the larger world. […] From there, attacking people head-on—though almost always cloaked in anonymity—wasn't a big leap. And so much more on the internet became like a game, only the score consisted of attention, outrage or approval from like-minded trolls.

   2016 June 8, Quentin Hardy, “How gaming helped launch the attack of the internet trolls”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 16 Jun 2023

   It was the place you went, shrouded in anonymity, for pornography, hard-core racism, revenge porn, Nazi cheerleading, Jew-baiting, creepshots, fat-shaming, mindless anarchy and pictures of dead kids or of women who had been beaten. If anyone bothered to look, Reddit was proof that on the internet, the trolls were in charge.

   2018 October 30, David Streitfeld, “Where trolls reigned free: A new history of Reddit [review of We are the Nerds: The Birth and Tumultuous Life of Reddit, the Internet's Culture Laboratory (2018) by Christine Lagorio-Chafkin]”, in The New York Times Book Review, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 26 May 2023

   As the board’s director, Ms. Jankowicz, 33, bore the brunt of the attacks, a subject she knows well. Her most recent book, called “How to Be a Woman Online,” chronicles abuses she and other women face from trolls and other malign actors on the internet.

   2022 May 18, Steven Lee Myers, “A Panel to Combat Disinformation Becomes a Victim of It”, in The New York Times

   Amid a dispute over deportations with Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro in January, Trump posted on his Truth Social platform an AI-generated image of himself wearing a fedora with the letters FAFO in red on a sign next to him. “This is awesome,” Musk said, resharing the image on X. Trump had previously reshared a post by right-wing internet troll that said “5 days until FAFO” alongside an image of Trump, on Jan. 15, five days before Trump’s second-term inauguration.

   2025 May 29, Miranda Jeyaretnam and Chad de Guzman, “From MAHA to TACO—A Guide to the Acronyms of Trump’s Second Term”, in TIME, archived from the original on 31 May 2025

   Synonyms: ragebaiter, baiter

6. broadlygovernmentA person who sows discord, or spreads misinformation or propaganda, in order to promote an agenda as part of an organized political campaign.

   Social media accounts tied to a group of Russian trolls are amplifying claims of election fraud, according to researchers at the Election Integrity Partnership, a coalition of misinformation experts.

   2020 November 3, Sheera Frenkel, “Russian internet trolls are amplifying election fraud claims, researchers say”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 27 May 2023

   3 more examples

   Already, U.S. operatives in both parties have made early efforts at using trolls for political gain. Rogue progressives stealthily launched fake social media campaigns against Roy Moore, the GOP nominee for Senate in Alabama, during a 2017 special election. Their campaign aimed to confuse voters into thinking Moore supported banning alcohol and that Russian bots were working on his behalf.

   2019 November 19, Shashank Bengali, Evan Halper, “Troll armies, a growth industry in the Philippines, may soon be coming to an election near you”, in Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles, Calif.: Los Angeles Times Communications, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 09 May 2023

   "The Dissident" saw as many as 500 low audience scores, out of just 2,400, flood the popular film-rating site Rotten Tomatoes on Jan. 12, filmmakers said, an act they believe came from trolls operating on behalf of the Saudi government to create a false sense of popular dissatisfaction.

   2021 January 21, Steven Zeitchik, “An alleged Saudi troll campaign is targeting a movie about the murder of Jamal Khashoggi”, in The Washington Post, Washington, D.C.: The Washington Post Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 22 Jan 2021

   And, perhaps unsurprisingly, pro-war Chinese trolls denounced the authors – who are based in Nanjing, Beijing, Hong Kong and Shanghai – as "shameful" and "traitorous". "Why did you not say anything during the west's invasion in Iraq," one quipped sarcastically.

   2022 February 28, Vincent Ni, “‘They were fooled by Putin’: Chinese historians speak out against Russian invasion”, in Katharine Viner, editor, The Guardian, London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 27 May 2023

7. broadlyderogatoryinformalA company, person, etc., that owns and legally enforces copyrights, patents, trademarks, or other intellectual property rights in an aggressive and opportunistic manner, often with no intention of commercially exploiting the subjects of the rights.

   The solitary, lumbering trolls of Scandinavian mythology would sometimes be turned to stone by exposure to sunlight. Barack Obama is hoping that several measures announced on June 4th will have a similarly paralysing effect on their modern incarnation, the patent troll.

   2013 June 8, “Obama goes troll-hunting: The president proposes a new round of intellectual-property reform”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8839, London: The Economist Group, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 16 Oct 2022, page 55

8. entertainmentA song the parts of which are sung in succession; a catch, a round.

   At the opening of every club night he is called in to sing his "Confession of Faith," which is the famous old drinking trowl from Gammer Gurton's needle.

   1820 September 13, Geoffrey Crayon [pseudonym; Washington Irving], “Little Britain”, in The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent., number VII, New York, N.Y.: […] C[ornelius] S. Van Winkle, […], →OCLC, pages 106–107

   1 more example

   And thence the catch and troll, while "laughter, holding both his sides" sheds tears to song and ballad pathetic on the woes of married life, and all the ills that "our flesh is heir to."

   1845, [John] Wilson, The Genius, and Character of Burns (Wiley and Putnam’s Library of Choice Reading), New York, N.Y.: Wiley and Putnam, […], →OCLC, page 103

9. obsoleteA small wheel; specifically (fishing), the reel or winch of a fishing line.
10. dialectalobsoleteexcept UKA trolley.
11. obsoleteObsolete form of trull (“a harlot”).

1. slanga native or resident of the Lower Peninsula of Michigan