octosyllable

American  

[ok-tuh-sil-uh-buhl] / ˈɒk təˌsɪl ə bəl /

noun

1. a word or line of verse of eight syllables.

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octosyllable British  

/ ˈɒktəˌsɪləbəl, ˌɒktəsɪˈlæbɪk /

noun

1. a line of verse composed of eight syllables

2. a word of eight syllables

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Other Word Forms

• octosyllabic
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of octosyllable

1765–75; part translation of Late Latin octōsyllabus; see octosyllabic, syllable

Example Sentences

In his handling of the French octosyllable he at once displays that impatience of the rigidly syllabic system of prosody which Teutonic poetry of the best kind always shows sooner or later.

From The Flourishing of Romance and the Rise of Allegory (Periods of European Literature, vol. II) by Saintsbury, George

Sometimes there is a double rhyme instead of a single, making seven syllables, though not altering the rhythm; and sometimes this is extended to a full octosyllable.

From The Flourishing of Romance and the Rise of Allegory (Periods of European Literature, vol. II) by Saintsbury, George

Written before the vogue of the versified Arthurian Romances had consecrated the octosyllable, these poems are in couplets of six syllables.

From A Short History of French Literature by Saintsbury, George

This is couched in alternate three and five accent iambics, preparing a delicious rhythmic effect when the metre changes, in the invocation, to the octosyllable, with or without anacrusis.

From Minor Poems by Milton by Milton, John