definitions

stanza

[ stan-zuh ]
/ ˈstæn zə /
||
SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR stanza ON THESAURUS.COM

noun Prosody.

an arrangement of a certain number of lines, usually four or more, sometimes having a fixed length, meter, or rhyme scheme, forming a division of a poem.

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RELATED WORDS

verse, refrain, strophe, division, stave

Nearby words

stanovoi, stanovoi range, stans, stanton, stanton, elizabeth cady, stanza, stapedectomy, stapedial, stapediotenotomy, stapelia, stapes

Origin of stanza

1580–90; < Italian: room, station, stopping-place (plural stanze) < Vulgar Latin *stantia, equivalent to Latin stant- (stem of stāns), present participle of stāre to stand + -ia -y3

Related forms

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for stanza

British Dictionary definitions for stanza

stanza

/ (ˈstænzə) /

noun

prosody a fixed number of verse lines arranged in a definite metrical pattern, forming a unit of a poem
US and Australian a half or a quarter in a football match

Derived Forms

stanzaed, adjectivestanzaic (stænˈzeɪɪk), adjective

Word Origin for stanza

C16: from Italian: halting place, from Vulgar Latin stantia (unattested) station, from Latin stāre to stand
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

Culture definitions for stanza

stanza

A group of lines of verse, usually set off from other groups by a space. The stanzas of a poem often have the same internal pattern of rhymes.

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.