versification
Americannoun
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the act of versifying.
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verse form; metrical structure.
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a metrical version of something.
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the art or practice of composing verses.
noun
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the technique or art of versifying
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the form or metrical composition of a poem
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a metrical version of a prose text
Etymology
Origin of versification
1595–1605; < Latin versificātiōn- (stem of versificātiō ), equivalent to versificāt ( us ) (past participle of versificāre to versify; see -ate 1) + -iōn- -ion
Explanation
Versification is when you turn something into a poem: "The versification of this grocery list was a lot harder than I imagined, because nothing rhymes with 'orange.'" You're most likely to come across the noun versification in an academic setting, like a poetry class. You can use it to mean the adaptation of some other kind of writing into verse, or to talk about the form — meter, rhythm, or language — of a poem. It comes from the Latin word versificationem, and it's closely related to versify, whose root is versificare, "compare verse or turn into verse."
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
When Stoner asks about Anglo-Saxon versification, Walker responds with talk of “sensibility.”
From The New Yorker • Mar. 11, 2019
He's clearly paid a great deal of detailed attention to how the narrative and the interplay of character is to work – vital in Shakespeare films that can easily get bogged down in versification.
From The Guardian • Feb. 15, 2011
For ten years smart young women have been trying to rival with their versification Edna St. Vincent Millay.
From Time Magazine Archive
Their sole derivation Is versification; This wealth is the gift of the Muse.
From Time Magazine Archive
It is the simplest form of poetical composition, and the novice in the craft of versification will not find it difficult to attain in it, after a few attempts, a fair measure of success.
From The Circus, and Other Essays and Fugitive Pieces by Kilmer, Joyce
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
