feminine ending

American  

noun

1. Prosody. an unaccented syllable at the close of a line of poetry, often one that is added to the metrical pattern as an extra syllable.

2. Grammar. a termination or final syllable marking a feminine word: In Latin -ā is a feminine ending for the ablative case in the singular.

---

feminine ending British  

noun

1. prosody an unstressed syllable at the end of a line of verse

---

Etymology

Origin of feminine ending

First recorded in 1890–95

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

feminine ending

The Hebrew form of the word, however, is not quite the same, the Assyrian feminine ending being absent.

From The Old Testament In the Light of The Historical Records and Legends of Assyria and Babylonia by Theophilus Goldridge Pinches

This last stress, however, is not, as a rule as strong as the others, the effect being somewhat like that of a feminine ending.

From The Nibelungenlied by Daniel Bussier Shumway

Another feminine ending among the Anglo-Saxons was gith, which, as elsewhere noted, I have supposed to mean woman or goddess.

From Surnames as a Science by Robert Ferguson

In the second stanza we have the same measure with feminine ending.

From English Verse Specimens Illustrating its Principles and History by Raymond MacDonald Alden

In the third place, the line may have a feminine ending.

From English Verse Specimens Illustrating its Principles and History by Raymond MacDonald Alden