sonnet

[ son-it ]

noun

1. Prosody. a poem, properly expressive of a single, complete thought, idea, or sentiment, of 14 lines, usually in iambic pentameter, with rhymes arranged according to one of certain definite schemes, being in the strict or Italian form divided into a major group of 8 lines (the octave) followed by a minor group of 6 lines (the sestet), and in a common English form into 3 quatrains followed by a couplet.

verb (used without object)

1. Archaic. to compose sonnets.

verb (used with object)

1. Older Use. to celebrate in a sonnet or sonnets.

sonnet

/ ˈsɒnɪt /

noun

1. a verse form of Italian origin consisting of 14 lines in iambic pentameter with rhymes arranged according to a fixed scheme, usually divided either into octave and sestet or, in the English form, into three quatrains and a couplet

verb

1. intr to compose sonnets
2. tr to celebrate in a sonnet

sonnet

1. A lyric poem of fourteen lines, often about love, that follows one of several strict conventional patterns of rhyme . Elizabeth Barrett Browning , John Keats , and William Shakespeare are poets known for their sonnets.

Other Words From

• sonnet·like adjective
• outsonnet verb (used with object)

Word History and Origins

Origin of sonnet¹

1550–60; < Italian sonnetto < Old Provençal sonet, equivalent to son poem (< Latin sonus sound ¹ ) + -et -et

Word History and Origins

Origin of sonnet¹

C16: via Italian from Old Provençal sonet a little poem, from son song, from Latin sonus a sound

Example Sentences

He wrote published sonnets and read widely, encouraging others.

From Washington Blade

Is it possible to follow up a school-shooting episode with lines from Sonnet 116?

From The Daily Beast

Your character in Wit seeks strength in the Holy Sonnets of John Donne, especially his Holy Sonnet 10, “Death Be Not Proud.”

From The Daily Beast

The new book celebrates the sonnet's uneven return to grace.

From The Daily Beast

The sonnet is a sort of poetical fugue in which the theme ought to pass and repass until its final resolution in a given form.

From Project Gutenberg

One man wrote a sonnet to the woman, verses in her honor, telling about her beautiful eyes.

From Project Gutenberg

The principal classes of lyric poetry are the song, the ode, the elegy, and the sonnet.

From Project Gutenberg

A sonnet is a lyric that deals with a single thought, idea, or sentiment in a fixed metrical form.

From Project Gutenberg

As Mr. Rossetti has noted in an exquisite sonnet, his mind remained always at liberty.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• ballad
• composition
• epic
• lyric
• poetry
• rhyme
• verse
• writing