ictus
Americannoun
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Prosody. rhythmical or metrical stress.
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Pathology.
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an epileptic seizure.
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a stroke, especially a cerebrovascular accident.
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noun
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prosody metrical or rhythmic stress in verse feet, as contrasted with the stress accent on words
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med a sudden attack or stroke
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of ictus
1700–10; < Latin: stroke, thrust, equivalent to īc ( ere ) to strike with a weapon + -tus suffix of v. action
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.
"The deil ye didna!—See, man, I got the word but this morning out of a memorial of Mr. Crossmyloof's—see, there it is, ictus clarissimus et perti—peritissimus—it's a' Latin, for it's printed in the Italian types."
From The Heart of Mid-Lothian, Volume 2 by Scott, Walter, Sir
She could only repeat her demand, in a cry that reached its ictus in a sob.
From Man Size by Raine, William MacLeod
These are his words; "In Catilianis prodigiis, Pompeiano ex municipio M. Herennius Decurio serena die, fulmine ictus est."
From Observations on Mount Vesuvius, Mount Etna, and Other Volcanos by Hamilton, William
Men who have yielded it are like cavalry put on the defensive; a very small force with an ictus will scatter them.
From The Egoist by Meredith, George
They must contain good mouth-filling words, with the vowels in the right place, and the rhythmic ictus at proper distances for chest and hand to keep true time.
From The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 02, No. 09, July, 1858 by Various
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.
