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dodecasyllable

American  
[doh-dek-uh-sil-uh-buhl, doh-dek-] / doʊˌdɛk əˈsɪl ə bəl, ˌdoʊ dɛk- /

noun

  1. a word or line of verse containing 12 syllables.

dodecasyllable British  
/ ˌdəʊdɛkəˈsɪləbəl /

noun

  1. prosody a line of twelve syllables

"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

Etymology

Origin of dodecasyllable

First recorded in 1745–55; dodeca- + syllable

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.

Dodecasyllable, dō-dek-a-sil′a-bl, n. a word of twelve syllables.—adj.

From Project Gutenberg

Hitherto the decasyllable and the dodecasyllable had been used indiscriminately, and Ronsard's Franciade is written in the former.

From Project Gutenberg

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.