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caesuras - 2 dictionary results

cae⋅su⋅ra

  [si-zhoor-uh, -zoor-uh, siz-yoor-uh]
Use caesuras in a Sentence
–noun, plural cae⋅su⋅ras, cae⋅su⋅rae  [si-zhoor-ee, -zoor-ee, siz-yoor-ee] .
1. Prosody. a break, esp. a sense pause, usually near the middle of a verse, and marked in scansion by a double vertical line, as in know then thyself ‖ presume not God to scan.
2. Classical Prosody. a division made by the ending of a word within a foot, or sometimes at the end of a foot, esp. in certain recognized places near the middle of a verse.
3. any break, pause, or interruption.
Also, cesura.

Origin:
1550–60; < L, equiv. to caes(us) cut (ptp. of caedere) (caed- cut + -tus ptp. suffix) + -ūra -ure

Related forms:
cae⋅su⋅ral, cae⋅su⋅ric, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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cae·su·ra also ce·su·ra   (sĭ-zhŏŏr'ə, -zŏŏr'ə)   
n.   pl. cae·su·ras also ce·su·ras or cae·su·rae also ce·su·rae (-zhŏŏr'ē, -zŏŏr'ē)
  1. A pause in a line of verse dictated by sense or natural speech rhythm rather than by metrics.
  2. A pause or interruption, as in conversation: After another weighty caesura the senator resumed speaking.
  3. In Latin and Greek prosody, a break in a line caused by the ending of a word within a foot, especially when this coincides with a sense division.
  4. Music A pause or breathing at a point of rhythmic division in a melody.

[Latin caesūra, a cutting, from caesus, past participle of caedere, to cut off; see kaə-id- in Indo-European roots.]
cae·su'ral, cae·su'ric adj.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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