Related Searches
Nearby Words
Synonyms
Related Questions
What is a stanza?
What is stanza?

stanza

 [stan-zuh]   Origin

stan·za

   [stan-zuh]
noun Prosody.
an arrangement of a certain number of lines, usually four or more, sometimes having a fixed length, meter, or rhyme scheme, forming a division of a poem.
Origin:
1580–90; < Italian: room, station, stopping-place (plural stanze) < Vulgar Latin *stantia, equivalent to Latin stant- (stem of stāns), present participle of stāre to stand + -ia -y3

Related forms
stan·zaed, adjective
stan·za·ic  [stan-zey-ik] , stan·za·i·cal, adjective
stan·za·i·cal·ly, adverb
non·stan·za·ic, adjective
un·stan·za·ic, adjective

Synonyms
See verse.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
Cite This Source Link To stanza

:10

:09

:08

:07

:06

:05

:04

:03

:02

:01

Stanza is always a great word to know.
So is flibbertigibbet. Does it mean:
a calculus or concretion found in the stomach or intestines of certain animals, esp. ruminants, formerly reputed to be an effective remedy for poison.
a chattering or flighty, light-headed person.
LEARN MORE UNUSUAL WORDS WITH WORD DYNAMO...
Collins
World English Dictionary
stanza (ˈstænzə)
 
—n
1.  prosody a fixed number of verse lines arranged in a definite metrical pattern, forming a unit of a poem
2.  (US), (Austral) a half or a quarter in a football match
 
[C16: from Italian: halting place, from Vulgar Latin stantia (unattested) station, from Latin stāre to stand]
 
'stanzaed
 
—adj
 
stanzaic
 
—adj

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
Etymonline
Word Origin & History

stanza
"group of rhymed verse lines," 1588, from It. stanza "verse of a poem," originally "standing, stopping place," from V.L. *stantia "a stanza of verse," so called from the stop at the end of it, from L. stans (gen. stantis), prp. of stare "to stand" (see stet).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
American Heritage
Cultural Dictionary

stanza definition


A group of lines of verse, usually set off from other groups by a space. The stanzas of a poem often have the same internal pattern of rhymes.

The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Slang Dictionary

stanza definition

[ˈstænzə]
  1. n.
    an inning in baseball or some other division of a ball game. : He's doing better than he was in the last stanza.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
Cite This Source
Encyclopedia Britannica
Encyclopedia

stanza

a division of a poem consisting of two or more lines arranged together as a unit. More specifically, a stanza usually is a group of lines arranged together in a recurring pattern of metrical lengths and a sequence of rhymes.

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

Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
Cite This Source
Partners:WordBloglinesCitysearchThe Daily BeastAsk AnswersAsk KidsLife123SendoriThesaurus
Dictionary.com, LLC. Copyright © 2012. All rights reserved.
About Privacy Policy Terms of Use API Careers Advertise with Us Contact Us Help
  • Please Login or Sign Up to use the Recent Searches feature
FAVORITES
RECENT
How many words do you know? FIND OUT