Definition of catalectic in English:
catalectic
adjective ˌkatəˈlɛktɪkˌkædəˈlɛktɪk
Prosody (of a metrical line of verse) lacking one syllable in the last foot.
Example sentencesExamples
- The Stabat Mater is composed of six-lines stanzas of trochaic dimeters, the third and sixth lines being catalectic.
- A line from which unstressed syllables have been dropped is said to be truncated or catalectic.
- A minus sign in the notation indicates the line is catalectic, a plus sign indicates a hypermetric line.
- The lines gradually increase from a trochaic monometer catalectic to a complicated decamter of spondees, anapaests, paeons, and dactyls.
- The concept of catalexis and the catalectic verse is important in the study of the anapaestic dimeter.
noun ˌkatəˈlɛktɪkˌkædəˈlɛktɪk
A line lacking a syllable in the last foot.
Origin
Late 16th century: from late Latin catalecticus, from Greek katalēktikos, from katalēgein 'leave off'.
Rhymes
apoplectic, dialectic, eclectic, hectic
Definition of catalectic in US English:
catalectic
adjectiveˌkædəˈlɛktɪkˌkadəˈlektik
Prosody (of a metrical line of verse) lacking one syllable in the last foot.
Example sentencesExamples
- A line from which unstressed syllables have been dropped is said to be truncated or catalectic.
- A minus sign in the notation indicates the line is catalectic, a plus sign indicates a hypermetric line.
- The Stabat Mater is composed of six-lines stanzas of trochaic dimeters, the third and sixth lines being catalectic.
- The concept of catalexis and the catalectic verse is important in the study of the anapaestic dimeter.
- The lines gradually increase from a trochaic monometer catalectic to a complicated decamter of spondees, anapaests, paeons, and dactyls.
nounˌkædəˈlɛktɪkˌkadəˈlektik
Prosody A line lacking a syllable in the last foot.
Origin
Late 16th century: from late Latin catalecticus, from Greek katalēktikos, from katalēgein ‘leave off’.