distich
Americannoun
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a unit of two lines of verse, usually a self-contained statement; couplet.
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a rhyming couplet.
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of distich
1545–55; < Latin distichon, noun use of neuter of Greek dístichos having two lines, equivalent to di- di- 1 + stíchos row
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Percy discovered in the old metrical romance of “Sir Bevis of Southampton,” the very distich which Edgar had parodied.—Warton, iii.
From Amenities of Literature Consisting of Sketches and Characters of English Literature by Isaac Disraeli
And boys of older growth may yet recall the simple distich: "It's Evacuation Day, when the British ran away, Please, dear Master, give us holiday!"
From "Evacuation Day", 1783 Its Many Stirring Events: with recollections of Capt. John Van Arsdale by James Riker
A Newcastle distich relating to Roger Thornton, a wealthy merchant, and a great benefactor to that town.
From Popular Rhymes and Nursery Tales A Sequel to the Nursery Rhymes of England by J. O. (James Orchard) Halliwell-Phillipps
Various have been the remedial means proposed in this terrific malady, and preservatives against it have been recorded in the following distich: Hæc tria labificum tollunt adverbia pestem; Mox, longè, tardè,—cede, recede, redi.
From Curiosities of Medical Experience by J. G. (John Gideon) Millingen
These dates are given in the following memorial distich with a frank indifference to quantity and metre— “Vult Crux, Lucia, Cinis, Charismata dia Quod det vota pia quarta sequens feria.”
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 9, Slice 3 "Electrostatics" to "Engis" by Various
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
