hexameter

[ hek-sam-i-ter ]

noun

1. a dactylic line of six feet, as in Greek and Latin epic poetry, in which the first four feet are dactyls or spondees, the fifth is ordinarily a dactyl, and the last is a trochee or spondee, with a caesura usually following the long syllable in the third foot.
2. any line of verse in six feet, as in English poetry.

adjective

1. consisting of six metrical feet.

hexameter

/ hɛkˈsæmɪtə; ˌhɛksəˈmɛtrɪk /

noun

1. a verse line consisting of six metrical feet
2. (in Greek and Latin epic poetry) a verse line of six metrical feet, of which the first four are usually dactyls or spondees, the fifth almost always a dactyl, and the sixth a spondee or trochee

Derived Forms

• hexametric, adjective

Other Words From

• hex·a·met·ric [hek-s, uh, -, me, -trik], hexa·metri·cal hex·ame·tral adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of hexameter¹

1540–50; < Latin < Greek hexámetros of six measures, equivalent to hexa- hexa- + métr ( on ) measure + -os adj. suffix

Example Sentences

The poem is 7,400 six-beat hexameter lines, divided into six untitled books—not exactly an easy read.

From The Daily Beast

The alternate hexameter and pentameter are, for most purposes, a more agreeable measure than the hexameter by itself.

From Project Gutenberg

Secondly, the bulk of our monosyllables are arbitrary with regard to length, which is an unlucky circumstance in Hexameter.

From Project Gutenberg

Beautiful as is the Evangeline of Longfellow, his Hexameter lines are sometimes hard to scan, and often grate harshly on the ear.

From Project Gutenberg

Surely the same Hexameter can be written as smoothly and more vigorously without rhyme.

From Project Gutenberg

When we first discover the epos, hexameter verse has already been selected for its vehicle.

From Project Gutenberg