cheville

American  

[shuh-vee] / ʃəˈvi /

noun

Prosody.

1. a word or expression whose only function is to fill a metrical gap in a verse or to balance a sentence.

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Etymology

Origin of cheville

First recorded in 1880–85; from French: literally, “ankle, dowel, peg, plug,” the last sense giving rise to the English meaning of a filler word or phrase in a sentence or line of verse, from Latin clāvicula “key, tendril, pivot”; see clavicle

Example Sentences

He showed her the rabbit's foot he used to brush off any flecks of gold left on the cheville and the leather he kept on his lap to catch any gold that fell.

From L'Assommoir by Zola, Émile