cinquain

[ sing-keyn, sing-keyn ]

noun
  1. a group of five.

  2. Prosody.

    • a short poem consisting of five, usually unrhymed lines containing, respectively, two, four, six, eight, and two syllables.

    • any stanza of five lines.

Origin of cinquain

1
1705–15; <French <Late Latin cinque (see cinque) + French -ain collective suffix. See quatrain

Words Nearby cinquain

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British Dictionary definitions for cinquain

cinquain

/ (sɪŋˈkeɪn, ˈsɪŋkeɪn) /


noun
  1. a stanza of five lines

Origin of cinquain

1
C18 (in the sense: a military company of five): from French cinq five, from Latin quinque; compare quatrain

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