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

Poe created the fifth line of his stanza for the magic of the repetend.

From The Raven by Poe, Edgar Allan

This chanted recitation seemed to have a hypnotic effect on the freckled boy; his big pupils contracted each time Abner came to the repetend, "Name yours."

From The Best American Humorous Short Stories by Poe, Edgar Allan

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

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

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)