trophy

See also: -trophy

English

A trophy.

Etymology

From Middle French trophée, from Latin trophaeum (“a sign of victory, a monument”), tropaeum, from Ancient Greek τρόπαιον (trópaion, “monument of an enemy's defeat”), from neuter of τροπαῖος (tropaîos, “of defeat”), from τροπή (tropḗ, “a rout, a turning of an enemy”). Doublet of tropæum.

Pronunciation

  • (UK) IPA(key): /ˈtɹəʊfi/, (obsolete) /ˈtɹɒfi/[1]
    • Audio (Southern England):(file)
  • (US) IPA(key): /ˈtɹoʊfi/
  • Rhymes: -əʊfi

Noun

trophy (plural trophies)

Trophy at Gloriette Schönbrunn (Austria) (sense 6)
  1. An object, usually in the form of a statuette, cup, or shield, awarded for success in a competition or to mark a special achievement.
    He won the trophy in a running competition.
  2. An object taken as a prize by a hunter, or a conqueror or belligerent, especially one that is displayed.
    Coordinate terms: prize, scalp
    The set of antlers which hung on the wall was his prized trophy.
    • 1697, Virgil, “The Seventh Book of the Æneis”, in John Dryden, transl., The Works of Virgil: Containing His Pastorals, Georgics, and Æneis. […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC:
      Around the posts hung helmets, darts, and spears, / And captive chariots, axes, shields, and bars, / And broken beaks of ships, the trophies of their wars.
    • 1950, Dorothy M. Johnson, A Man Called Horse; in Indian Country, London: Corgi, 1961, page 171:
      They carried the dripping scalps of his companions, and one had skinned off Baptiste's black beard as well, for a trophy.
    • 2011 July 26, L. Samuelson, Tankograd: The Formation of a Soviet Company Town: Cheliabinsk, 1900s-1950s, Springer, →ISBN, page 200:
      Similarly, the Soviet defence industry tested their guns by firing against German trophy tanks or fired against new Soviet vehicles with German guns or German ammunition.
  3. Any emblem of success; a status symbol.
    His trophies included his second wife, his successful children, the third and fourth homes in Palm Beach and Malibu, and his three yachts.
    • 2018 June 8, Scott Reyburn, “Art Is Becoming a Financial Product, and Blockchain Is Making It Happen”, in The New York Times‎[2], New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 4 December 2025:
      “The stakes are getting so high,” Mr. MacDonald-Korth said in a telephone interview, referring to the skyrocketing amounts being paid for trophy works of art.
  4. (criminology, by extension) An object taken by a serial killer or rapist as a memento of the crime.
  5. (historical, Ancient Rome) A tropæum.
  6. (art, architecture) A display of weaponry and other militaria, often captured from a defeated enemy, as an ornament designed for the purpose of triumphalist display by a victor or as a show of military prowess by a monarch.
    • 1994, Philip Jenkins, Using Murder: The Social Construction of Serial Homicide‎[3], →ISBN, page 117:
      The souvenirs which many killers retain of their victims are often described as trophies, and Norman Bates's taxidermic interests derived from the real-life Ed Gein.
    • 2001, R. Michael Gordon, Alias Jack the Ripper: Beyond the Usual Whitechapel Suspects‎[4], →ISBN, page 82:
      A trophy from this murder would have been of great importance.
    • 2004, Ronald F. Becker, Criminal Investigation‎[5], →ISBN, page 168:
      The offender is also likely to mentally relive his killings, often with the help of souvenirs or trophies, such as a bracelet or a body part taken from the victim.
  7. An artifact or artwork that has been stolen by a criminal and traded on the black market.
  8. An animal killed by a trophy hunter that usually has its parts sold on the black market.

Derived terms

Descendants

  • → Japanese: トロフィー (torofī)
  • → Korean: 트로피 (teuropi)
  • → Malayalam: ട്രോഫി (ṭrōphi)

Translations

Verb

trophy (third-person singular simple present trophies, present participle trophying, simple past and past participle trophied)

  1. (transitive) To adorn (someone) with trophies.
  2. (intransitive) To win a trophy in a competition.
    • 2021, “Harold C. 'Todd' Freeman, III”, in Star Tribune‎[6], archived from the original on 1 December 2021:
      He trophied at the 1993, 1994, 2012 and 2015 National Championships and was most proud of winning his class at the 2017 Spring Nationals.

References

  1. ^ Ross, Alan S. C. (1970), “trophy”, in How to pronounce it‎[1], London: Hamish Hamilton, →ISBN, →OCLC, page 168.
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