What is "trophy"

Trophy \Tro"phy\, n.; pl. Trophies. [F. troph['e]e (cf. It. & Sp. trofeo), L. tropaeum, trophaeum, Gr. ?, strictly, a monument of the enemy's defeat, fr.? a turn, especially, a turning about of the enemy, a putting to flight or routing him, fr. ? to turn. See Trope.]

1. (Gr. & Rom. Antiq.) A sign or memorial of a victory raised on the field of battle, or, in case of a naval victory, on the nearest land. Sometimes trophies were erected in the chief city of the conquered people.

   Note: A trophy consisted originally of some of the armor, weapons, etc., of the defeated enemy fixed to the trunk of a tree or to a post erected on an elevated site, with an inscription, and a dedication to a divinity. The Romans often erected their trophies in the Capitol.

2. The representation of such a memorial, as on a medal; esp. (Arch.), an ornament representing a group of arms and military weapons, offensive and defensive.

3. Anything taken from an enemy and preserved as a memorial of victory, as arms, flags, standards, etc.

   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.
   --Dryden.

4. Any evidence or memorial of victory or conquest; as, every redeemed soul is a trophy of grace.

5. An object memorializing a victory in a sporting contest.

   Note: Some trophies(5) are unique, temporary possession of the same object passing to the new victors of some periodic contest in subsequent occurrences. Others are objects of little inherent worth, given by the authority sponsoring the contest to the victor. A trophy is sometimes shaped like a cup, and in such cases may be called a cup, as the America's Cup (in Yacht racing).
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   Trophy money, a duty paid formerly in England, annually, by housekeepers, toward providing harness, drums, colors, and the like, for the militia.

1510s, "a spoil or prize of war," from Middle French trophée (15c.) from Latin trophaeum "a sign of victory, monument," originally tropaeum, from Greek tropaion "monument of an enemy's defeat," noun use of neuter of adjective tropaios "of defeat, causing a rout," from trope "a rout," originally "a turning" (of the enemy); see trope. In ancient Greece, spoils or arms taken in battle and set up on the field and dedicated to a god. Figurative extension to any token or memorial of victory is first recorded 1560s. As "a symbolic representation of a classical trophy" from 1630s. Trophy wife attested by 1984.

n. 1 (context Roman antiquity English) tropæum#English. 2 An object, usually in the form of a statuette, cup, or shield, awarded for success in a competition or to mark a special achievement. 3 An object taken as a prize by a hunter or conqueror, especially one that is displayed. 4 Any emblem of success; a status symbol. 5 (context criminology by extension English) An object taken by a serial killer or rapist as a memento of the crime.

1. n. an award for success in war or hunting

2. something given as a token of victory [syn: prize]

A trophy is a tangible, durable reminder of a specific achievement, and serves as recognition or evidence of merit. Trophies are often awarded for sporting events, from youth sports to professional level athletics. In many sports medals (or, in North America, rings) are often given out either as the trophy or along with more traditional trophies.

Originally the word trophy, derived from the Greek tropaion, referred to arms, standards, other property, or human captives and body parts (e.g., headhunting) captured in battle. These war trophies commemorated the military victories of a state, army or individual combatant. In modern warfare trophy taking is discouraged, but this sense of the word is reflected in hunting trophies and human trophy collecting by serial killers. A slang term for an individual or team's collection of trophies is silverware.

Trophy (also known as ASPRO-A, Israel Defense Forces designation מעיל רוח, lit. "Windbreaker") is a military active protection system (APS) for vehicles. It intercepts and destroys incoming missiles and rockets with a shotgun-like blast. Trophy is the product of a ten-year collaborative development project between the Rafael Advanced Defense Systems and Israel Aircraft Industries' Elta Group. Its principal purpose is to supplement the armour of light and heavy armored fighting vehicles.

Trophy is the debut album by American noise-rock/ post-metal band Made Out of Babies. It was released through Neurot Recordings on June 28, 2005. The album was produced, engineered, and mixed by Joel Hamilton at Atomic Recordings in Brooklyn and Leopard Studios in New Paltz with mastering my Doug Henderson.

A trophy is an award of mostly symbolic value, earned by the winner of a competition.

Trophy or trophies may also refer to:

• Trophy wife, a term commonly used to describe any wife who is considered a status symbol
• Trophy (architectural), an architectural ornament
• Trophy (album), debut album of New York noise rock band Made Out of Babies
• PlayStation Network Trophies, awards for achieving goals in PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4 and PlayStation Vita games
• Tropaion or tropaeum, ancient Roman victory monument or trophy
  • Tropaeum Traiani, the Trophy of Trajan, in modern Romania
  • Tropaeum Alpium, the Trophy of the Alps, in modern France
• War trophy, property seized from the enemy as a result of a military victory
• Trophy hunting, an item, such as a stuffed bear or a deer head, kept by a hunter as a souvenir of the successful hunt
• Trophy (countermeasure), an Israeli military vehicle active protection system Me'il Ruach, also called Windbreaker, currently fitted to the Merkava 4 MBT and Namer heavy IFV
• Tropaeum, a genus of cephalopod mollusca
• Trophy Mountain, a mountain in British Columbia, Canada
• "Trophy", a song by Bat for Lashes from Fur and Gold
• Trophies (Paper Lions album)
• Trophies (O.C. & Apollo Brown album), 2012
• Trophies (song), a song by Canadian rapper Drake
• a 6-row malting barley variety

A trophy is an architectural ornament representing a group of weapons, banners and armour. Similar decorative vertical arrangements of hunting accessories, musical instruments or other objects are also commonly referred to as trophies.

The term comes from the ancient Greek Tropaion and Roman equivalent Tropaeum, military victories which were commemorated with a display of captured arms, armour and standards.

The use of trophies as an architectural element started becoming popular during the baroque era, being either depicted as sculptures on gates to castles, as ornaments on victory monuments, or in a more two-dimensional stylised form on walls or even indoors in rooms.