Trot

Part of speech: verb

Pronunciation: /tɹɑt/

Definitions

1. To progress at a speed that exceeds walking but is not as quick as running
2. To move forward at a moderate pace that is quicker than walking but not as fast as running
3. To proceed with a steady, rhythmic speed typically used in animals such as horses, faster than a walk yet slower than a run

Etymology: The verb "trot" began as a word for treading, and it is a close relative of "tread" and "trade." Its ancestor, a Proto-Germanic verb meaning "to go, step, tread," gave rise to Old English "tredan" (to step, tread) and Old Norse "troða" (to walk, tread), while a Frankish form passed into Old French as "trotter" (to go, trot). Middle English borrowed that French verb as "trotten," so the horse's quick gait and the everyday idea of stepping along briskly grew out of the same ancient root that gave us "tread." The word also shows the Germanic family splitting in two: "tread" stayed closer to plain walking, while "trade," which once meant a path or course of action, took a different route. "Trot" and "tread" are doublets, two words descended from one source by separate paths into English.

Synonyms: jog, gallop, run

Antonyms: walk, standstill