traipse
EnglishEdit
Alternative formsEdit
EtymologyEdit
Likely from French trépasser (“pass over or beyond”).
PronunciationEdit
VerbEdit
traipse (third-person singular simple present traipses, present participle traipsing, simple past and past participle traipsed)
- (intransitive, obsolete) 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 [...].
- (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.
- (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.
- (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.
- (transitive, colloquial) to walk about or over (a place) aimlessly or insouciantly.
SynonymsEdit
Related termsEdit
TranslationsEdit
intransitive: to walk about
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transitive: to walk about or over
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NounEdit
traipse (plural traipses)
- A long or tiring walk.
- It was a long traipse uphill all the way home.
- A meandering walk.
- 2021, Neal Stephenson, Termination Shock:
- it was an easy traipse down the rocky slope
SynonymsEdit
TranslationsEdit
long or tiring walk
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