poulter's measure
[pohl-terz]
- a metrical pattern using couplets having the first line in iambic hexameter, or 12 syllables, and the second in iambic heptameter, or 14 syllables.
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Origin of poulter's measure
1570–80; so called because poulters (see poulterer) used to give extra eggs when counting by the dozen
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018