Alcaic

Al·ca·ic

[al-key-ik]
adjective
1.
pertaining to Alcaeus or to certain meters or a form of strophe or stanza used by, or named after, him.
noun
2.
Alcaics, Alcaic verses or strophes.

Origin:
1620–30; < Late Latin Alcaicus < Greek Alkaïkós, equivalent to Alka(îos) Alcaeus + -ikos -ic

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source Link To alcaic
Collins
World English Dictionary
Alcaic (ælˈkeɪɪk) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
adj
1.  of or relating to a metre used by the 7th-century bc Greek lyric poet Alcaeus, consisting of a strophe of four lines each with four feet
 
n
2.  (usually plural) verse written in the Alcaic form
 
[C17: from Late Latin Alcaicus of Alcaeus]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Relevant Questions
00:10
Alcaic is always a great word to know.
So is callithumpian. Does it mean:
a fool or simpleton; ninny.
a children's mummer's parade, as on the Fourth of July, with prizes for the best costumes.
Encyclopedia Britannica
Encyclopedia

alcaic

classical Greek poetic stanza composed of four lines of varied metrical feet, with five long syllables in the first two lines, four in the third and fourth lines, and an unaccented syllable at the beginning of the first three lines (anacrusis).

Learn more about alcaic with a free trial on Britannica.com.

Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
Cite This Source
Copyright © 2013 Dictionary.com, LLC. All rights reserved.
  • Please Login or Sign Up to use the Recent Searches feature
FAVORITES
RECENT