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octameter

American

[ok-tam-i-ter] / ɒkˈtæm ɪ tər /

adjective

consisting of eight measures or feet.

noun

Also an octameter verse.

octameter British

/ ɒkˈtæmɪtə /

noun

prosody a verse line consisting of eight metrical feet

"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 octameter

1840–50; < Late Latin < Greek oktámetros (adj.), equivalent to okta- octa- + métr ( on ) -meter + -os adj. suffix

Vocabulary lists containing octameter

Florida's B.E.S.T. Common Prefixes: oct-

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Example Sentences

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See Examples For:

octameter

The former is trochaic—the latter is octameter acatalectic, alternating with heptameter catalectic repeated in the refrain of the fifth verse, and terminating with tetrameter catalectic.

From How to Write a Novel A Practical Guide to the Art of Fiction by Anonymous

The heptameter is usually divided into a tetrameter and a trimeter; the octameter, into two tetrameters.

From English: Composition and Literature by W. F. (William Franklin) Webster

Verses of seven and eight feet are rare; they are called heptameter and octameter, respectively.

From English: Composition and Literature by W. F. (William Franklin) Webster

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