virelay
or vir·e·lai
an old French form of short poem, composed of short lines running on two rhymes and having two opening lines recurring at intervals.
any of various similar or other forms of poem, as one consisting of stanzas made up of longer and shorter lines, the lines of each kind rhyming together in each stanza, and having the rhyme of the shorter lines of one stanza forming the rhyme of the longer lines of the next stanza.
a medieval song form providing a musical setting for a virelay but having a formal structure different from that of the poem.
Origin of virelay
1Words Nearby virelay
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How to use virelay in a sentence
This may be called a virelay in the English sense, and is possibly what Chaucer intended by that name.
Chaucer's Works, Volume 6 (of 7) -- Introduction, Glossary, and Indexes | Geoffrey ChaucerIt is not a true virelay (in the French sense), and first appeared in the edition of 1561; see vol.
Chaucer's Works, Volume 3 (of 7) | Geoffrey ChaucerThe chevalier was singing a virelay which he accompanied by striking Rolande against the branches, then barren of foliage.
The Barber of Paris | Charles Paul de KockThe virelay seems to have been in vogue in earlier English poetry.
A History of English Versification | Jakob SchipperA virelay is a poem in an unusual metre, of which examples are very rare.
Chaucer's Works, Volume 3 (of 7) | Geoffrey Chaucer
British Dictionary definitions for virelay
/ (ˈvɪrɪˌleɪ) /
an old French verse form, rarely used in English, consisting of short lines arranged in stanzas having only two rhymes, and two opening lines recurring at intervals
any of various similar forms
Origin of virelay
1Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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