hemistich
/ˈhɛmɪstiːʃ/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: 0.00 in modern English
19
Scrabble Score
9
Letters
1
Syllables
7
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
An approximate half-line of verse, separated from another by a caesura, often for dramatic effect.
noun
Example Sentences
- "[…] I would first agree with [Earl] Wasserman that the last line ["[shapes] Which walk upon the sea, and chaunt melodiously"] alludes to Jesus walking on water, the point of the allusion being the kerygmatic expression of a form of transcendence, which is more or less specified by the way the other hemistych of this remarkably balanced thirteener – "and chaunt melodiously" – recalls how it is on the breath of enamored air and song that all the vigorously launched members and voices of this scene are sustaining their courses."
Etymology
From French hémistiche, from Latin hēmistichium, from Ancient Greek ἡμιστίχιον (hēmistíkhion), from ἡμι- (hēmi-, “half”) + στίχος (stíkhos, “verse”).
Origin
- Source language: French