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
Their sole derivation Is versification; This wealth is the gift of the Muse.
From Time Magazine Archive
As rendered in Rolf Fjelde's lyrical English versification, it goes: Among men, under the shining sky They say: "Man, to yourself be true!"
From Time Magazine Archive
My poetic possibilities, however, rested more upon aspiration than inspiration, and my craving for versification was but a passing phase of my literary activities.
From Under Four Administrations From Cleveland to Taft by Straus, Oscar S.
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.
