repetend

American  

[rep-i-tend, rep-i-tend] / ˈrɛp ɪˌtɛnd, ˌrɛp ɪˈtɛnd /

noun

1. Mathematics. the part of a repeating decimal that is repeated, as 1234 in 0.123412341234. …

2. Music. a phrase or sound that is repeated.

3. Prosody. a word, phrase, line or longer element that is repeated, sometimes with variation, at irregular intervals in a poem.

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repetend British  

/ ˌrɛpɪˈtɛnd, ˈrɛpɪˌtɛnd /

noun

1. maths the digit or series of digits in a recurring decimal that repeats itself

2. anything repeated

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repetend Scientific  

/ rĕp′ĭ-tĕnd′ /

1. The digit or group of digits that repeats infinitely in a repeating decimal. The repetend of the decimal form of 5/12 (0.4166666…) is 6.

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Etymology

Origin of repetend

1705–15; < Latin repetendum that which is to be repeated, neuter gerund of repetere to repeat

Example Sentences

Artifice and ballad preciosity have been cultivated more sedulously in the south, with a learned use of the repetend, archaism of style, and imitation of the quaint mediaeval habit of mind.

From A History of English Romanticism in the Nineteenth Century by Beers, Henry A. (Henry Augustin)

Refrain, a line or part of a line repeated according to the metrical pattern, 184 f.; the term repetend is occasionally used.

From The Principles of English Versification by Baum, Paull Franklin

He has easily recognizable devices: the dominant note, the refrain, the "repetend," that is to say the phrase which echoes, with some variation, a phrase or line already used.

From The American Spirit in Literature : a chronicle of great interpreters by Perry, Bliss

A musical or mnemonic device akin to the refrain was that sing-song species of repetend so familiar in ballad language:     "She had na pu'd a double rose,       a rose but only twa."

From A History of English Romanticism in the Eighteenth Century by Beers, Henry A. (Henry Augustin)

"Sister Helen" is a ballad in dialogue with a subtly varying repetend, and introduces the popular belief that a witch could kill a man slowly by melting a wax figure.

From A History of English Romanticism in the Nineteenth Century by Beers, Henry A. (Henry Augustin)