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hendecasyllable

American  
[hen-dek-uh-sil-uh-buhl, hen-dek-uh-sil-] / hɛnˈdɛk əˌsɪl ə bəl, ˌhɛn dɛk əˈsɪl- /

noun

  1. a word or line of verse of 11 syllables.


hendecasyllable British  
/ hɛnˌdɛkəsɪˈlæbɪk, ˈhɛndɛkəˌsɪləbəl /

noun

  1. prosody a verse line of 11 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

Other Word Forms

  • hendecasyllabic adjective

Etymology

Origin of hendecasyllable

1740–50; < Latin hendecasyllabus < Greek hendekasýllabos. See hendeca-, 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.

Hendecasyllable, hen′dek-a-sil-a-bl, n. a metrical line of eleven syllables.—adj.

From Project Gutenberg

The Monthly Miscellany for June 1776 provided a few kindly lines: "This didactic rhapsody, the precepts contained in which are founded upon passages referred to in his Lordship's letters, is written in hendecasyllable measure, and is not destitute of humour."

From Project Gutenberg

What seems tolerably certain is that the modern Italian hendecasyllable was suggested by one of the Latin eleven-syllabled meters, but that, in the decay of quantitative prosody, an iambic rhythm asserted itself.

From Project Gutenberg

The Italian hendecasyllable is an accentual iambic line of five feet with one unaccented syllable over and included in the rhyme.

From Project Gutenberg

That which is most frequently used is the Phalæcian hendecasyllable, consisting of a spondee, dactyl, and three trochees.

From Project Gutenberg