pentameter

American  

[pen-tam-i-ter] / pɛnˈtæm ɪ tər /

noun

1. a line of verse consisting of five metrical feet.

2. Also called elegiac pentameter.  Classical Prosody. a verse consisting of two dactyls, one long syllable, two more dactyls, and another long syllable.

3. unrhymed verse of five iambic feet; heroic verse.

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adjective

1. consisting of five metrical feet.

pentameter British  

/ pɛnˈtæmɪtə /

noun

1. a verse line consisting of five metrical feet

2. (in classical prosody) a verse line consisting of two dactyls, one stressed syllable, two dactyls, and a final stressed syllable

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adjective

1. designating a verse line consisting of five metrical feet

Other Word Forms

• pentametrist noun

Etymology

Origin of pentameter

1540–50; < Latin pentametrus < Greek pentámetros. See penta-, meter ²

Example Sentences

At the same time, there is a sort of Shakespearean lilt to much of of it; many lines, in my random examination, resolve into iambic pentameter.

From Los Angeles Times

North of Copenhagen is the city of Elsinore, home to the castle where Hamlet takes place, with its wandering ghosts, ill-advised eavesdropping behind the drapes, conversations with skulls, and deadly duels in iambic pentameter.

From Literature

“Iambic pentameter!” the children shouted in answer, and returned to their work.

From Literature

"This is the biggest mountain because I was always worried about the iambic pentameter, about blank verse, and not being trained as an actor," he says.

From BBC

The pair haven't been afraid to experiment over the years, having produced an entirely silent episode, one all in iambic pentameter and now, in the final series, an episode filmed from a doorbell camera.

From BBC