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catalectic

[ kat-l-ek-tik ]
/ ˌkæt lˈɛk tɪk /
Prosody

adjective

(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

a catalectic line of verse.

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Compare acatalectic, hypercatalectic.

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

Words nearby catalectic

catafalque, catagen, catagenesis, Catalan, catalase, catalectic, catalepsy, catalexis, Çatalhüyük, Catalin, Catalina Island
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021

Example sentences from the Web for catalectic

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

    English Verse|Raymond MacDonald Alden, Ph.D.

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

    A History of English Versification|Jakob Schipper

British Dictionary definitions for catalectic

catalectic
/ (ˌkætəˈlɛktɪk) /

adjective

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

Word Origin for catalectic

C16: via Late Latin from Greek katalēktikos incomplete, from katalēgein, from kata- off + lēgein to stop
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012