Hello, you have come here looking for the meaning of the word
hemistich. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
hemistich, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
hemistich in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
hemistich you have here. The definition of the word
hemistich will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition of
hemistich, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
English
Etymology
From French hémistiche, from Latin hēmistichium, from Ancient Greek ἡμιστίχιον (hēmistíkhion), from ἡμι- (hēmi-, “half”) + στίχος (stíkhos, “verse”).
Noun
hemistich (plural hemistichs or hemistiches)
- An approximate half-line of verse, separated from another by a caesura, often for dramatic effect.
2011, Edward T. Duffy, “Recounting Reverses, Recovering the Initiative: Act II of Prometheus Unbound”, in The Constitution of Shelley’s Poetry: The Argument of Language in Prometheus Unbound (Anthem Nineteenth-century Series), London; New York, N.Y.: Anthem Press, →ISBN, page 144:[…] I would first agree with [Earl] Wasserman that the last line [" Which walk upon the sea, and chaunt melodiously"] alludes to Jesus walking on water, the point of the allusion being the kerygmatic expression of a form of transcendence, which is more or less specified by the way the other hemistych of this remarkably balanced thirteener – "and chaunt melodiously" – recalls how it is on the breath of enamored air and song that all the vigorously launched members and voices of this scene are sustaining their courses.
- An unfinished line of verse.
Translations
approximate half-line of verse