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pentameter

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

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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Origin of pentameter

1540–50; <Latin pentametrus<Greek pentámetros.See penta-, meter2

OTHER WORDS FROM pentameter

pen·tam·e·trist, noun

Words nearby pentameter

pentahydrate, pentahydric, pentahydroxy, pentalpha, pentamerous, pentameter, pentamethonium bromide, pentamethylene, pentamethylenediamine, pentamidine, pentane
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Example sentences 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