Definify.com

Webster 1913 Edition


Pentameter

Pen-tam′e-ter

,
Noun.
[L., fr. Gr. [GREEK]; [GREEK] (see
Penta-
) + [GREEK] measure.]
(Gr. & L.Pros.)
A verse of five feet.
☞ The dactylic pentameter consists of two parts separated by a diæresis. Each part consists of two dactyls and a long syllable. The spondee may take the place of the dactyl in the first part, but not in the second. The elegiac distich consists of the hexameter followed by the pentameter.
Harkness.

Pen-tam′e-ter

,
Adj.
Having five metrical feet.

Webster 1828 Edition


Pentameter

PENTAM'ETER

,
Noun.
[Gr. five, and measure.] In ancient poetry, a verse of five feet. The two first feet may be either dactyls or spondees; the third is always a spondee, and the two last anapests. A pentameter verse subjoined to a hexameter, constitutes what is called elegiac.

PENTAM'ETER

,
Adj.
Having five metrical feet.

Definition 2024


pentameter

pentameter

English

Alternative forms

Noun

pentameter (plural pentameters)

  1. (poetry) A line in a poem having five metrical feet.
  2. (poetry) Poetic metre in which each line has five feet.

Derived terms

Related terms

Translations

See also