sonnet

[ son-it ]
/ ˈsɒn ɪt /
SEE SYNONYMS FOR sonnet ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

Prosody. a poem, properly expressive of a single, complete thought, idea, or sentiment, of 14 lines, usually in iambic pentameter, with rhymes arranged according to one of certain definite schemes, being in the strict or Italian form divided into a major group of 8 lines (the octave) followed by a minor group of 6 lines (the sestet), and in a common English form into 3 quatrains followed by a couplet.

verb (used without object)

Archaic. to compose sonnets.

verb (used with object)

Older Use. to celebrate in a sonnet or sonnets.

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Origin of sonnet

1550–60; < Italian sonnetto < Old Provençal sonet, equivalent to son poem (< Latin sonus sound1) + -et -et

OTHER WORDS FROM sonnet

son·net·like, adjectiveout·son·net, verb (used with object)

Words nearby sonnet

sonication, sonics, soniferous, sonification, sonne bacillus, sonnet, sonnet cycle, sonnet sequence, sonneteer, sonnetize, sonnets from the portuguese
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Words related to sonnet

rhyme, poetry, writing, verse, lyric, epic, composition, ballad, poem, stanza, jingle, song, poesy, limerick, beat, creation, rime, words, ode, lines

Example sentences from the Web for sonnet

British Dictionary definitions for sonnet

sonnet
/ (ˈsɒnɪt) prosody /

noun

a verse form of Italian origin consisting of 14 lines in iambic pentameter with rhymes arranged according to a fixed scheme, usually divided either into octave and sestet or, in the English form, into three quatrains and a couplet

verb

(intr) to compose sonnets
(tr) to celebrate in a sonnet

Word Origin for sonnet

C16: via Italian from Old Provençal sonet a little poem, from son song, from Latin sonus a sound
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

Cultural definitions for sonnet

sonnet

A lyric poem of fourteen lines, often about love, that follows one of several strict conventional patterns of rhyme. Elizabeth Barrett Browning, John Keats, and William Shakespeare are poets known for their sonnets.

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.