catalectic

[ kat-l-ek-tik ]

adjective

1. (of a line of verse) lacking part of the last foot; metrically incomplete, as the second line of One more unfortunate,/Weary of breath.

noun

1. a catalectic line of verse.

catalectic

/ ˌkætəˈlɛktɪk /

adjective

1. prosody (of a line of verse) having an incomplete final foot

Word History and Origins

Origin of catalectic¹

1580–90; < Late Latin catalēcticus < Greek katalēktikós incomplete, equivalent to katalēk-, variant stem of katalḗgein to leave off ( kata- cata- + lḗgein to end) + -tikos -tic

Word History and Origins

Origin of catalectic¹

C16: via Late Latin from Greek katalēktikos incomplete, from katalēgein, from kata- off + lēgein to stop

Example Sentences

So that it was written in what the grammarians call trochaic tetrameter catalectic.

From Project Gutenberg

Here the alternate lines are catalectic, both light syllables being wanting.

From Project Gutenberg

Dicatalectic, dī-kat-a-lek′tik, adj. doubly catalectic, both at the middle and end of the verse.

From Project Gutenberg

In like manner the catalectic iambic tetrameter is broken up by inserted rhyme into two short verses, viz.

From Project Gutenberg

The hexameter is a six-foot catalectic verse theoretically consisting of five successive dactyls and a trochee.

From Project Gutenberg