cheville

[shuh-vee]

noun

Prosody.

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of cheville¹

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”; 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.

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