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line of verse

line of verse

1 4.0
A single row of words that is part of a poem
  • noun
  • Literature
translation icon : estrofa
  • Still trembling after this first visit from the muse, I held out to them the paper with the lines of verse.

Instead, I've tried to weave into these brief comments their own words, their own phrases, their own lines of verse, as a tribute to what they're writing means to me.

Examples

  • He meticulously crafted each line of verse to evoke strong emotions in his readers.

  • She then quotes six lines of verse on the spirit of charity.

    Academic text (1993)
  • And every now and then, he'd spend an afternoon or so writing lines of verse.

    Fiction book (1991)
  • Indeed, the book ends with four lines of verse by Applewhite.

    Academic text (1990)
  • For Marlise, heartbreak means she can't finish a sentence, let alone a line of verse.

    Fiction book (1998)
  • You might call silence a caesura, a break in a line of verse, the line pausing naturally to breathe, right on time, on a dime.

    Fiction book (1997)
  • Instead, I've tried to weave into these brief comments their own words, their own phrases, their own lines of verse, as a tribute to what they're writing means to me.

  • In lines of verse that stretch over story the way tendon slides over bone, Ovid shapes the perversely half-human into beautiful form.

    Academic text (2008)
  • As wine gradually loosens Mustafa's reticence, he recites in fluent and impeccable English the following lines of verse about World War I:

    Academic text (2008)
  • The poem consists of several stanzas, each containing a unique line of verse.

Synonyms

verse
vsline of verse
  • Literature
215 3.4

A set of lines in a poem or song

is narrower when used for a single line rather than whole sections
line of poetry
vsline of verse
  • Literature
1 3.5

A single row of words in a poem that forms meaning or rhythm

is the general name, not emphasizing unit of meaning or rhythm
stich
vsline of verse
  • Archaic
1 9.9

A single line of a poem often found in classical poetry

is the neutral term, not restricted to classical contexts
stichic
vsline of verse
  • Literature
9.9

A single line of a poem

is the neutral everyday term rather than rare scholarly usage
verse line
vsline of verse
  • Literature
5.4

A single line of a poem with its own rhythm

is broader, covering any poetic line not only metrical ones

How Many

quatrain
  • Literature
2 7.4
tercet
  • Literature
8.6
couplet
  • Literature
4 5.9
line of verse
  • Literature
1 4.0

Surface Forms

line of verse singular

Morphology

line + of + verse

The meaning 'a single line of words in a poem' is directly compositional from 'line' (a row or sequence of words) + 'of' (partitive/possessive) + 'verse' (a unit of poetry). This standard noun + of + noun construction is cross-linguistically common and follows ordinary English composition patterns, so a B1 learner who knows the constituents will readily infer the meaning.

Etymology

Line of verse comes from the simple picture of a poem written in rows: a line is one row of words and verse means a 'poem' or a part of a poem, so the phrase means one row of words in a poem.