haikai

[hahy-kahy]

noun, plural hai·kai for 2. Prosody.

an informal type of linked verse originated by Bashō, a 17th-century Japanese poet.
a poem of this type.

Origin of haikai

1880–85; < Japanese haikai (no renga) jesting (linked verse); earlier faikai < Middle Chinese, equivalent to Chinese páixié jest

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for haikai

Historical Examples of haikai

The very word poetry (or haikai) came in his mouth to stand for morality.
The Japanese Spirit
Yoshisaburo Okakura
The most attenuated form of all is the hokku (or haikai) which consists of only three lines, namely, 17 syllables.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 15, Slice 2
Various