haikai

American  

[hahy-kahy] / ˈhaɪ kaɪ /

noun

Prosody.

plural

haikai

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

2. a poem of this type.

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Etymology

Origin of haikai

First recorded in 1880–85; from Japanese haikai (no renga) “jesting (linked verse),” from hai “actor” (akin to Cantonese paai, Korean bae, Mandarin pái ) + kai “harmony” (akin to Cantonese haai, Korean hae, Mandarin xié )

Example Sentences

This now found a substitute in the haikai, which admitted language taken from purely Japanese sources and could thus be produced without any exercise of special scholarship.

From A History of the Japanese People From the Earliest Times to the End of the Meiji Era by Brinkley, F. (Frank)

Matsuo Basho Was the father of the haikai and the hokku, and his mantle descended upon Kikaku, Ransetsu, Kyoriku, and other celebrities.

From A History of the Japanese People From the Earliest Times to the End of the Meiji Era by Brinkley, F. (Frank)