Standard Lemma guide

strophe

noun · 4 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • Received-Pronunciation: /ˈstɹəʊ.fi/
  • UK: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • General-American: /ˈstɹoʊ.fi/
  • rhymes with -əʊfi

1

noun

Meaning 1

A turn in verse, as from one metrical foot to another, or from one side of a chorus to the other.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: human-sciences, linguistics, phonology, prosody, sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

The section of an ode that the chorus chants as it moves from right to left across the stage.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: human-sciences, linguistics, phonology, prosody, sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

A pair of stanzas of alternating form on which the structure of a given poem is based.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: human-sciences, linguistics, phonology, prosody, sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

noun

Meaning 4

one section of a lyric poem or choral ode in classical Greek drama

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: stanza

History

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin stropha, itself a borrowing from Ancient Greek στροφή (strophḗ, “a turn, bend, twist”). Compare strap and strop. Compare typologically rehearsal, rehearse (related to French herser (“to harrow”) << Latin hirpex, another meaning shift from the idea of turning).

Across languages

Translations

1 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Bulgarian: строфа (strofa) — pair of stanzas