hokku
Americannoun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of hokku
First recorded in 1895–1900; from Japanese, from hok “departure, start” (akin to Cantonese faat, Korean bal, Mandarin fā ) + ku “phrase, stanza” (akin to Cantonese geoi, Korean gu, Mandarin jù )
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 Lafcadio Hearn may write delightfully about that special seventeen syllable form of Japanese verse known as the hokku.
From A Study of Poetry by Bliss Perry
Composing hokku might, however, have remained a mere game of elaborate literary conceits and double meanings, but for the genius of one man.
From Japanese Prints by Dorothy Pulis Lathrop
He reformed the hokku, by introducing into everything he wrote a deep spiritual significance underlying the words.
From Japanese Prints by Dorothy Pulis Lathrop
The concluding hemistich, whereby the hokku becomes the tanka, is existent in the writer's mind, but never uttered.
From Japanese Prints by Dorothy Pulis Lathrop
Here is a hokku by Basho, one of the most skilled composers in that form.
From A Study of Poetry by Bliss Perry
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.
