catalexis

[ kat-l-ek-sis ]

/ ˌkæt lˈɛk sɪs /

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noun, plural cat·a·lex·es

[kat-lek-seez]. /ˌkætˈlɛk siz/. Prosody.

the absence of a syllable at the beginning or end of a line of metrical verse resulting in an incomplete foot, most often occurring in the last foot at the end of a verse; a catalectic line.

QUIZ

QUIZ YOURSELF ON "WAS" VS. "WERE"!

Were you ready for a quiz on this topic? Well, here it is! See how well you can differentiate between the uses of "was" vs. "were" in this quiz.

Question 1 of 7

“Was” is used for the indicative past tense of “to be,” and “were” is only used for the subjunctive past tense.

true

false

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Origin of catalexis

1820–30; <Greek katálēxis ending, final syllable; see catalectic, -sis

Words nearby catalexis

catagenesis, Catalan, catalase, catalectic, catalepsy, catalexis, Çatalhüyük, Catalin, Catalina Island, catalo, catalog