sestina
[ se-stee-nuh ]
/ sɛˈsti nə /
noun, plural ses·ti·nas, ses·ti·ne [se-stee-ney] /sɛˈsti neɪ/. Prosody.
a poem of six six-line stanzas and a three-line envoy, originally without rhyme, in which each stanza repeats the end words of the lines of the first stanza, but in different order, the envoy using the six words again, three in the middle of the lines and three at the end.
Nearby words
sessions, roger, sesterce, sestertium, sestertius, sestet, sestina, sesto san giovanni, sestos, set, set a precedent, set about
Also called sextain.
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Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for sestina
British Dictionary definitions for sestina
sestina
/ (sɛˈstiːnə) /
noun
an elaborate verse form of Italian origin, normally unrhymed, consisting of six stanzas of six lines each and a concluding tercet. The six final words of the lines in the first stanza are repeated in a different order in each of the remaining five stanzas and also in the concluding tercetAlso called: sextain
Word Origin for sestina
C19: from Italian, from sesto sixth, from Latin sextus
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
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Word Origin and History for sestina
sestina
1797, from Italian, "poem of six-lined stanzas," from sesto "sixth," from Latin sextus (see six). Invented by 12c. Provençal troubadour Arnaut Daniel. The line endings of the first stanza are repeated in different order in the rest, and in an envoi.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper