redondilla

[re-dawn-dee-lyah]

noun

Prosody.

1. a Spanish verse form in which each stanza consists of four lines, each with eight syllables, and a rhyme scheme abba.

Word History and Origins

Origin of redondilla¹

1830–40; < Spanish, equivalent to redond ( o ) round (< Latin rotundus ) + -illa diminutive suffix

Example Sentences

He hath good skill with the lute, and he has in his memory a thousand redondillas, with which he may divert the leisure of my lord.

From Project Gutenberg

Conde has given a translation of certain Spanish-Arabian poems, in the measure of the original, from which it is evident, that the hemistich of an Arabian verse corresponds perfectly with the redondilla.

From Project Gutenberg

He possessed, however, the soul of a poet; and when he abandons himself to his native redondillas, delivers his sentiments with a sweetness and grace inimitable.

From Project Gutenberg

It contains, among other things, eight comedies, written in the native redondillas; which continue to be regarded as the suitable measure for the drama.

From Project Gutenberg

Sarmiento traces it to the hexameter of the ancient Romans, which may be bisected into something analogous to the redondillas.

From Project Gutenberg