catalectic

American  

[kat-l-ek-tik] / ˌkæt lˈɛk tɪk /

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.

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noun

1. a catalectic line of verse.

catalectic British  

/ ˌkætəˈlɛktɪk /

adjective

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

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Etymology

Origin of catalectic

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

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

catalectic

Here the fourth and ninth lines are catalectic.

From English Verse Specimens Illustrating its Principles and History by Raymond MacDonald Alden

Here, as almost always in English, the measure is catalectic, a final dactyl being instinctively avoided, except in short two-stress lines.

From English Verse Specimens Illustrating its Principles and History by Raymond MacDonald Alden

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

From English Verse Specimens Illustrating its Principles and History by Raymond MacDonald Alden

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

From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 1 of 4: A-D) by Various

The former is trochaic—the latter is octameter acatalectic, alternating with heptameter catalectic repeated in the refrain of the fifth verse, and terminating with tetrameter catalectic.

From How to Write a Novel A Practical Guide to the Art of Fiction by Anonymous