versify

[ vur-suh-fahy ]

verb (used with object)

, ver·si·fied, ver·si·fy·ing.

1. to relate, describe, or treat (something) in verse.
2. to convert (prose or other writing) into metrical form.

verb (used without object)

, ver·si·fied, ver·si·fy·ing.

1. to compose verses.

versify

/ ˈvɜːsɪˌfaɪ /

verb

1. tr to render (something) into metrical form or verse
2. intr to write in verse

Derived Forms

• ˈversiˌfier, noun

Other Words From

• versi·fier noun
• un·versi·fied adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of versify¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English versifien, from Old French versifier, from Latin versificāre; verse, -ify

Word History and Origins

Origin of versify¹

C14: from Old French versifier, from Latin versificāre, from versus verse + facere to make

Example Sentences

We shall endeavour to versify it, à la Patmore, conceiving that its issue is very similar to that of his story of “The River.”

From Project Gutenberg

His powers were cramped by the fetters of metre, and his attempts to versify even rich thought and deep feeling were puerile.

From Project Gutenberg

And here another, which would versify into a fine horrible ballad—as grand and ghastly as Alfred Tennyson's "Sisters:"

From Project Gutenberg

Then he would versify as much strange information as he could remember; that might take a few months.

From Project Gutenberg

You are obliged to talk like a bourgeois, and versify like one.

From Project Gutenberg