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.
Here is a hokku by Basho, one of the most skilled composers in that form.
From A Study of Poetry by Perry, Bliss
That is not to say, that, by taking the letter for the spirit, we should in any way strive to imitate the hokku form.
From Japanese Prints by Lathrop, Dorothy Pulis
The reader can now see for himself what the main object of the hokku poetry is, and what it achieved.
From Japanese Prints by Lathrop, Dorothy Pulis
The most famous hokku that Bashō wrote, might be literally translated thus: "An old pond And the sound of a frog leaping Into the water."
From Japanese Prints by Lathrop, Dorothy Pulis
It must always be understood that there is an implied continuation to every Japanese hokku.
From Japanese Prints by Lathrop, Dorothy Pulis
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.
