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pentameter

[ pen-tam-i-ter ]
/ pɛnˈtæm ɪ tər /
Prosody
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noun

a line of verse consisting of five metrical feet.
Also called elegiac pentameter. Classical Prosody. a verse consisting of two dactyls, one long syllable, two more dactyls, and another long syllable.
unrhymed verse of five iambic feet; heroic verse.

adjective

consisting of five metrical feet.

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Nearby words

  1. pentahydrate,
  2. pentahydric,
  3. pentahydroxy,
  4. pentalpha,
  5. pentamerous,
  6. pentamethonium bromide,
  7. pentamethylene,
  8. pentamethylenediamine,
  9. pentamidine,
  10. pentane

Origin of pentameter

1540–50; < Latin pentametrus < Greek pentámetros. See penta-, meter2
Related formspen·tam·e·trist, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for pentameter

British Dictionary definitions for pentameter

pentameter

/ (pɛnˈtæmɪtə) /

noun

a verse line consisting of five metrical feet
(in classical prosody) a verse line consisting of two dactyls, one stressed syllable, two dactyls, and a final stressed syllable

adjective

designating a verse line consisting of five 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
Word Origin and History for pentameter

pentameter

adj.

1540s, from Middle French pentametre, from Latin pentameter, from Greek pentametros (adj.) "having five measures," from pente "five" (see five) + metron "meter" (see meter (n.2)). As a noun from 1580s.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper