hemistich
Americannoun
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the exact or approximate half of a stich, or poetic verse or line, especially as divided by a caesura or the like.
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an incomplete line, or a line of less than the usual length.
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of hemistich
1565–75; < Late Latin hēmistichium < Greek hēmistíchion a half-verse. See hemi-, stich 1
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.
A hemistich is missing here, in the MS., and a verb must be supplied; I adopt Grein's suggestion, lædde.
From Genesis A Translated from the Old English by Mason, Lawrence
The first hemistich still belongs to the threatening.
From Christology of the Old Testament: And a Commentary on the Messianic Predictions. Vol. 2 by Hengstenberg, Ernst Wilhelm
He employed for this same purpose the hemistich or half-verse, the triplet or three consecutive verses with the same rhyme, and the Alexandrine with its six accents and its consequent well-rounded fullness.
From Palamon and Arcite by Dryden, John
A hemistich seems to be missing here, metrically.
From Genesis A Translated from the Old English by Mason, Lawrence
This line is apparently imperfect, metrically, for the second hemistich seems to be wanting.
From Genesis A Translated from the Old English by Mason, Lawrence
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.
