hokku

The most attenuated form of all is the hokku (or haikai) which consists of only three lines, namely, 17 syllables.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 15, Slice 2|Various
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

/ (ˈhɒkuː) /

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