Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

sestina

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.31 in modern English

Syllables: ses-ti-na
IPA

7

Scrabble Score

7

Letters

3

Syllables

6

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A highly structured poem consisting of six six-line stanzas followed by a tercet or envoy, for a total of thirty-nine lines.

noun

A chord comprising the first six members of the harmonic series.

Example Sentences

"Although the sestina is of medieval French origin, attributed to Arnaut Daniel in the late twelfth century and used by other Gallic poets and by Italians including Petrarch and Dante (from whom it received its Italian name), […]"
"Would he let others toil to support him while he languished all afternoon over his sestinas?"

Etymology

From Italian sestina. Doublet of sextain.

Origin

Source language: Italian

Word Breakdown

Root: sestina

Inflected Forms

sestinas (plural)

Frequently Paired Words

sestine sextain pentina triolet

Questions

What does sestina mean?: A highly structured poem consisting of six six-line stanzas followed by a tercet or envoy, for a total of thirty-nine lines.
Where does sestina come from?: It is traced to Italian.

How to pronounce sestina

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “sestina”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling () so you know which sounds to aim for.
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Repeat and practice — Say “sestina” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.