hypercatalectic

American

[hahy-per-kat-l-ek-tik] / ˌhaɪ pərˌkæt lˈɛk tɪk /

adjective

Prosody.

(of a line of verse) containing an additional syllable after the last dipody or foot.

hypercatalectic British

/ ˌhaɪpəˌkætəˈlɛktɪk /

adjective

prosody (of a line of verse) having extra syllables after the last foot

"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

Etymology

Origin of hypercatalectic

1695–1705; < Late Latin hypercatalēcticus, equivalent to Greek hyperkatálēkt ( os ) + Latin -icus -ic; hyper-, catalectic

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.

French Alexandrines are arranged in couplets, alternately acatalectic with masculine rhymes, and hypercatalectic with feminine rhymes.

From Project Gutenberg

The normal line of which these quatrains are composed is a thirteen-syllabled one divided by a central pause, so that the first half is an iambic dimeter catalectic, and the second an iambic dimeter hypercatalectic.

From Project Gutenberg

The rhythm of the lines is marked, the effect upon the ear being quite like that of English iambic pentameters hypercatalectic.

From Project Gutenberg

Knowing this, we can detect the hypercatalectic and catalectic lines.

From Project Gutenberg

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023