Definition

1. Noun:

   • A native or inhabitant of the ancient city of Troy: A person from the historical and legendary city of Troy, which was located in what is now Turkey.
   • A type of malicious computer program: A program that misleads users of its true intent, often appearing to be a useful or legitimate software but instead contains harmful code designed to damage, disrupt, or gain unauthorized access to a computer system.

2. Adjective:

   • Of or relating to the ancient city of Troy or its inhabitants: Pertaining to the city, its people, culture, or the legendary Trojan War.

Usage Examples

• Noun (Person):
  • Hector was a famous Trojan hero.
  • The Greeks fought against the Trojans for ten years.
• Noun (Computer Program):
  • His computer was infected by a trojan that stole his passwords.
  • Never open email attachments from unknown senders; they might contain a trojan.
• Adjective:
  • The Trojan War is a central event in Greek mythology.
  • Archaeologists are studying Trojan artifacts.

Advanced Usage

• "to work like a Trojan": To work with exceptional energy, diligence, and endurance.
  • She worked like a Trojan to finish the project on time.
• The "Trojan Horse": Refers to the deceptive wooden horse from the legend, used as a metaphor for any strategy where a hidden danger is presented as a gift or benefit.
  • The new tax law was a Trojan horse, hiding severe cuts to public services.
  • In computing, a "Trojan horse" is synonymous with a trojan (noun, malicious program).

Variants and Related Words

• Trojan Horse (n): 1. The legendary wooden horse used by the Greeks to infiltrate Troy. 2. A synonym for a trojan (malicious program). 3. Any person or thing intended to undermine or subvert from within.
• Trojan War (n): The legendary decade-long war between the Greeks and the Trojans.

Synonyms

• For the malicious program: Malware, malicious software, backdoor.
• For a diligent worker (in the idiom): Workhorse, beaver, eager beaver.

Related Phrases

• Trojan asteroid: An astronomy term for a minor planet that shares an orbit with a larger planet (e.g., Jupiter), located at stable Lagrangian points. (This is a specialized scientific term, not derived from the city of Troy but from the orbital analogy to the Trojan War).
• Trojan condom: A brand name for condoms, playing on the association with protection and defense.

Related Idioms

• Beware of Greeks bearing gifts: An idiom directly stemming from the Trojan Horse story, meaning one should be suspicious of offers that seem too good to be true or that come from an enemy.

Adjective

1. of or relating to the ancient city of Troy or its inhabitants
   • Trojan cities

Noun

1. a program that appears desirable but actually contains something harmful
   • the contents of a trojan can be a virus or a worm
   • when he downloaded the free game it turned out to be a trojan horse
2. a native of ancient Troy