Troop (?), n. [F. troupe, OF. trope, trupe, LL. troppus; of uncertain origin; cf. Icel. þorp a hamlet, village, G. dorf a village, dial. G. dorf a meeting. Norw. torp a little farm, a crowd, E. thorp. Cf. Troupe.]
1.
A collection of people; a company; a number; a multitude.
That which should accompany old age --
As honor, love, obedience, troops of friends --
I must not look to have.
Shak.
2.
Soldiers, collectively; an army; -- now generally used in the plural.
Farewell the plumed troop, and the big wars.
Shak.
His troops moved to victory with the precision of machines.
Macaulay.
3. (Mil.)
Specifically, a small body of cavalry, light horse, or dragoons, consisting usually of about sixty men, commanded by a captain; the unit of formation of cavalry, corresponding to the company in infantry. Formerly, also, a company of horse artillery; a battery.
4.
A company of stageplayers; a troupe. W. Coxe.
5. (Mil.)
A particular roll of the drum; a quick march.
© Webster 1913
Troop, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Trooped (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Trooping.]
1.
To move in numbers; to come or gather in crowds or troops. "Armies . . . troop to their standard." Milton.
2.
To march on; to go forward in haste.
Nor do I, as an enemy to peace,
Troop in the throngs of military men.
Shak.
© Webster 1913
Troop, n.
See Boy scout, above.
© Webster 1913
Troop, v. t. --
To troop the colors or colours (Mil.), in the British army, to perform a ceremony consisting essentially in carrying the colors, accompanied by the band and escort, slowly before the troops drawn up in single file and usually in a hollow square, as in London on the sovereign's birthday.
© Webster 1913