hokku

[haw-koo, hok-oo]

noun, plural hok·ku. Prosody.

the opening verse of a linked verse series.

Origin of hokku

1895–1900; < Japanese, equivalent to hok opening, first + ku stanza; earlier fot-ku < Middle Chinese, equivalent to Chinese fá depart + jù phrase

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for hokku

Historical Examples of hokku

It must always be understood that there is an implied continuation to every Japanese hokku.
Japanese Prints
John Gould Fletcher
He reformed the hokku, by introducing into everything he wrote a deep spiritual significance underlying the words.
Japanese Prints
John Gould Fletcher
The concluding hemistich, whereby the hokku becomes the tanka, is existent in the writer's mind, but never uttered.
Japanese Prints
John Gould Fletcher
The reader can now see for himself what the main object of the hokku poetry is, and what it achieved.
Japanese Prints
John Gould Fletcher
That is not to say, that, by taking the letter for the spirit, we should in any way strive to imitate the hokku form.
Japanese Prints
John Gould Fletcher

British Dictionary definitions for hokku

hokku

noun plural -ku

prosody another word for haiku

Word Origin for hokku

from Japanese, from hok beginning + ku hemistich

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