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Synonyms

quatrain

American  
[kwo-treyn] / ˈkwɒ treɪn /

noun

  1. a stanza or poem of four lines, usually with alternate rhymes.


quatrain British  
/ ˈkwɒtreɪn /

noun

  1. a stanza or poem of four lines, esp one having alternate rhymes

"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 quatrain

1575–85; < French, equivalent to quatre four (< Latin quattuor ) + -ain < Latin -ānus -an

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

The five-character quatrain, which rose to prominence during the Tang dynasty, has four lines consisting of five characters each.

From New York Times • Jul. 14, 2023

One visitor from the United States, Rupert Flowers, told the state-run Anadolu Agency that he traveled to Konya, inspired by Rumi’s best-known and welcoming quatrain:

From Seattle Times • Dec. 21, 2021

This week: Write a quatrain or — heck — two of Balliol rhyme about some person.

From Washington Post • Feb. 20, 2020

A fixed form of nineteen lines: five tercets, a concluding quatrain, and a rhyme scheme tight enough to keep any feeling from spilling over the borders.

From The New Yorker • Feb. 26, 2017

Which is why the epigraph of this book is the quatrain from the famous Christmas carol.

From "Slaughterhouse-Five" by Kurt Vonnegut