WCOREW Word

Traipse


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Came first in group 32 in round 1 with 304 votes

beat Jubilant on 96 votes
beat Groin on 81 votes
beat Weakling on 20 votes


Came third in group 8 in round 2 with 191 votes

beaten by Defenestration on 352 votes
beaten by Funicular on 283 votes
beat Hubris on 146 votes



English[edit]

WOTD – 14 November 2009

Alternative forms[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Likely from French trépasser (“pass over or beyond”).

Pronunciation[edit]

  • IPA(key): /tɹeɪps/, /t͡ʃɹeɪps/
  • Audio (Southern England)(file)
  • Rhymes: -eɪps

Verb[edit]

traipse (third-person singular simple present traipses, present participle traipsing, simple past and past participle traipsed)

  1. (intransitive) To walk in a messy or unattractively casual way; to trail through dirt.
    • 1728, [Alexander Pope], “Book the Third”, in The Dunciad. An Heroic Poem. […], Dublin, London: […] A. Dodd, →OCLC, lines 140-144:
      Lo next two slipshod Muses traipse along, In lofty madness, meditating song, / With tresses staring from poetic dreams, / And never wash'd, but in Castalia’s streams [...].
  2. (intransitive, colloquial) To walk about, especially when expending much effort, or unnecessary effort.
    • 1922, James Joyce, Ulysses:
      After traipsing about in the fog they found the grave sure enough.
  3. (intransitive, colloquial) To travel with purpose; usually a significant or tedious amount.
    While you were traipsing round Africa, I had to take care of mum and dad!
    So after all that work, I traipsed down to the shop to grab something to eat.
  4. (transitive, colloquial) To walk (a distance or journey) wearily or with effort
    • 1874, Thomas Hardy, Far From the Madding Crowd:
      She only got handy the Union-house on Sunday morning 'a b'lieve, and 'tis supposed here and there that she had traipsed every step of the way from Melchester.
  5. (transitive, colloquial) to walk about or over (a place) aimlessly or insouciantly.

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Noun[edit]

traipse (plural traipses)

  1. A long or tiring walk.
    It was a long traipse uphill all the way home.
  2. A meandering walk.
    • 2021, Neal Stephenson, Termination Shock:
      it was an easy traipse down the rocky slope

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